The Doctor and Tano: Forgetting the Past
by OrangeGalen
Summary: Ahsoka has left the Jedi Order that she had lived with and served for as long as she could remember. Now alone, she is struggling to get by and believes that there is no future left for her. But time is not through with her yet as a mysterious blue box and a equally mysterious man come (literally) crashing into her life. Will Ahsoka find a purpose in her life again?
1. Chapter 1: Hello, I'm the Doctor!

**Hey Readers! OrangeGalen with a new story! This has been bouncing around in my head ever since I started watching Doctor Who. I decided to finally put it into writing, so enjoy!**

**BTW, the Doctor is the Tenth Doctor and his POV occurs right at the end of "The Waters of Mars". As for Ahsoka, well you'll see. **

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Ahsoka woke up. She was in a draft dusty room on the lowest floor of an apartment building on the surface of Coruscant. She had been sleeping on what could pass for a bed, but was really just a metal board with some blankets thrown on it with a mattress. The room was empty of decorations and only had the bed, a mirror with a water basin, and a refresher in a close-off room. A thin layer of dust covered most of the floor and you could see the one set of footprints that led to the bed. Ahsoka had fallen there last night and had not bothered to get up for half of the day.

Ahsoka blinked a few times, getting accustomed to the light shining in through the patched up window. It was around midday on Coruscant. She sat up in her bed, and then everything came crashing back to her. Yesterday she had been captured by Republic clones and was barred from the Jedi order. Then she was put on trial for bombing the Jedi Temple, which was something she didn't do. Chancellor Palpatine was just about to read out the verdict when her master- no, former master now- Anakin Skywalker burst in with the real culprit. Ahsoka couldn't believe it until the culprit, and her friend Barriss Offee spoke, condemning the Jedi and the Republic for supporting the darkness and violence. Then, with that confession, Ahsoka was pardoned and the charges were dropped. The Jedi council had decided to apologize to Ahsoka and offered to take her back into the order.

But Ahsoka couldn't. The Council had turned too quickly on her and the only ones that seemed to believe her were Anakin and possibly Obi-Wan. But even with them supporting her, she couldn't even trust herself. So she turned her back on the Council like they had done to her. She left the Temple and, even though Anakin tried to stop her, she did not return. She just couldn't. After all she gave to the Jedi Order, after all she had done, she couldn't go back.

She had wandered off into the streets of Coruscant after leaving Anakin and the Temple behind. She roamed aimlessly for several hours, and hours more after night fell. When she finally got through crying her eyes out in some back ally she held in the remaining tears long enough to go into an apartment complex that advertised "Rooms for a Night" and got herself a room with the few credits that she still had on her. Then after finding her room, she immediately went to the bed and cried herself to sleep.

When she woke up just now, she found herself in the same position she had left herself: curled up with her legs tightly held against her chest. Sitting up in her bed, she sucked in air as her muscles contracted, leaving her with very painful cramps. Barely able to keep herself from crying again, both from her physical and mental pain, she forced herself to straighten her legs and get the blood flowing normally again. Once she was able to stand up she went over to the mirror to look at herself. While she didn't look that different, bruises were showing from her ordeals and her eyes were red and bloodshot from crying so much.

She reached out and touched the mirror in silence. The mirror had a crack down the middle of it and that distorted her face slightly, giving her the appearance of having her face split. It was also more than that; it also symbolized her internal split with the Jedi Order. Now that she was gone from it, part of her had remained anyway and would always be there. Seeing herself like that in the mirror brought back more memories from various missions that she and her master-former master- had been on. Suddenly she felt some wetness on her cheek. She blinked and saw that she was crying again. She wiped her face with the back of her hand and tried to stop the crying. _Stop it,_ she told herself, _it's not very Jedi-like of you to cry._

_But I'm not a Jedi anymore,_ she thought, and then it hit her again. She could never go back to the life that she had. She could never be at Anakin's side again or any other Jedi and feel accepted again. She couldn't. She collapsed onto the floor crying again, her head buried in her arms, silently shaking from the tears. It was gone.

All gone.

* * *

"No." Was all he said as he heard the Cloister Bell sound coming from the TARDIS. He would not go quietly. He would not go at all. He would not go to die. He did not want to. Even though he made mistakes, he did not want to give up the ghost so easily. _If I'm going to die, then I'll make death work for it, _he thought as he madly started pushing buttons and pulling leavers on the control panel.

_"Your song is ending… it is coming… he will knock four times." _Those words haunted him ever since he first heard them. The sign of his upcoming death. The sign of something else approaching. He did not know what was coming and how he would die. The only part he knew that matched something from his experience was The Master. _But he is dead now, for good this time, _he thought. _Who else knocks four times? Nobody I know nor anybody I want to meet. _

He rushed to the other side of the console and did the same thing there. As he pulled one lever, the entire TARDIS was suddenly thrown to one side and Doctor was violently thrown against one of the handrails. Wincing because of the pain, he looked over and flinched as a storm of sparks rushed at him. As they passed he scrambled his way back to the controls. _What's going on here?_ He wondered. He managed to flip the lever back into the position it was in previously.

That solved the problem of the tilt, but then the TARDIS started shaking, more than normal that is. _What!_ The Doctor thought as he moved over a bit and hit a series of buttons that stopped the shaking. The Doctor looked around expectantly, waiting for the inevitable to happen. He waited like that for a minute before slowly relaxing, fully expecting something to happen after he solved the first two problems. He looked at the core of the TARDIS and asked "What's gotten into you now?"

As if on cue, the shaking resumed, more violent than before. The Doctor managed to grasp something to keep himself upright, but he looked at what he grabbed as he felt it move. He had managed to grab the only other lever on this side of the control panel. He felt it start to slide down. "Don't you do it, don't you do it!" He warned the inanimate object, but as usual, the thing ignored him and slid all the way down.

The shaking stopped, but was replaced by a strange distortion that filled up the TARDIS. It looked like the Doctor was looking through a pool of water everywhere. It even felt like it, aside from the not being wet part. Ripples pressed and moved against him as he tried to make his way to the visual scanner he had.

The Doctor turned the screen around to get a better look at it and was dumbfounded. "What? What!" He said. The scans weren't making any sense. It was like time and space was warping inside the TARDIS and it was trying to absorb the mysterious energy. "How can this be?" The Doctor said, "This isn't possible!" He frantically tried to dispel the energy but the TARDIS's systems were already maxed out trying to sort it out. He was trying to get the energy out of the TARDIS, but the TARDIS was busy trying to absorb the energy, which was polluting the Time-Vortex, which the TARDIS was traveling in.

"If this keeps up then the TARDIS will be ripped apart!" The Doctor exclaimed to nobody in particular. And as soon as he said that, the rippling stopped. The Doctor looked around before re-checking the scans. It turned out that the TARDIS had absorbed the disturbance and had converted it into energy it could use. "Ah." The Doctor said as he checked the scans.

Then the lever that he used to materialize somewhere in time and space suddenly went down. Then sound that the TARDIS makes when materializing started to reverberate throughout the room. The Doctor looked sharply at the lever before saying "No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" Before he could reach the lever, the TARDIS violently lurched again as if it hit something and the Doctor was sent sprawling out on the floor. Another series of sparks shot out from all around the TARDIS and the ripply distortion appeared, but it wasn't as heavy as before.

Time seemed to slow down as the Doctor got up and at the controls again. He checked the scanners once more and was confused as he could possibly be. The distortion wasn't inside the TARDIS. He ran the check again and this time he found it, but it was inside his mind. "What." Was all he could say before gases started spewing from the vents, which made the Doctor double over in coughing. He barely had time to check to see if he was on a planet before he doubled over again. His vision blurred as he stumbled his way over to the door and opened it into a bright new world that had never seen his kind before.

As he stumbled out, with white gasses spewing out after him, he noticed a shocked girl in front of him. Or at least he thought it was a girl, she did have an interesting hat on. She must have also been to some failed tanning facility that was all the rage now days as she seemed to be bright orange and mahogany.

"Don't come near!" The Doctor shouted, warning the girl to stay away from the toxic fumes. "Just give it a minute and it'll clear up." He doubled over again coughing.

The girl came rushing to his side and helped him stand up straight. "Are you alright?" She asked.

He nodded his vision still blurry, "I'll be fine." He took the girl's hand and shook it, "I'm the Doctor by the way nice to meet you."

"Umm, I'm Ahsoka?" She said questioningly.

The Doctor smiled and his head started to spin. "Nice to meet you!" He got free of her grasp and staggered around. "Whoa, that gas must have had something in it because I'm…" He drifted off as his vision came into focus. Turns out the girl didn't have a hat on; it was part of her head. And she _was_ orange, and her clothing was a mahogany shade. It became too much for the Doctor and he said "Oh." Then immediately collapsed on the ground and blacked out.

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**What do you think? Should I continue with this? I have the second chapter all written out and plan to post soon, but it might go faster if you review and favorite. :)**


	2. Chapter 2: Hello, I'm the Doctor (Pt 2)

**Okay, this chapter jumps back a bit as we get the initial meeting from Ahsoka's POV. Then after this part, things will continue more or less linearly. **

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It had been several hours more before Ahsoka could gather the strength to move again. Her eyes had been raw and actual tears had stopped some time ago and she had just been dry sobbing. Now, she had finally tired herself out by crying and was recovering once again. Holding the wall to steady herself, she wobbled a bit before standing fully upright. She sighed and wiped away the dried over lines the water from her tears left. She sniffed and then noticed the position of the sun and how low it had gotten.

_I don't think I'll be going anywhere today, so I'd better go pay for another day's rent before I get in trouble. _She laughed weakly to herself. To think that I'd worry about the grumbling of a landlord in my lifetime. Who would have thought it?

She wandered out of her rented room and avoided the piles of debris that littered the hallway. She made her way to the turbolift and went down to the ground floor. When she got there, she walked over to the Rodian landlord.

"Ahh, the ex-Jedi padawan." He said in accented basic, "Checking out?"

"No actually," Ahsoka said in a weak voice, I'm going to rent the same room for another night."

"Sure sure, but the rate is still the same." He said.

Ahsoka fumbled around in her pouch for her credits and gave them to the Rodian. It was just enough and it left her almost broke. She only had six credits left, as the Jedi had never given her that much, not that she had ever needed it before.

The landlord said his thanks and Ahsoka went back into the turbolift. But instead of heading back to her room, she decided to go to the roof of the apartment building. Hitting the button for the roof, she shot up and a minute later was standing out in the Coruscant air. It wasn't the cleanest air, like some she had felt on Alderaan, nor was it the organic, spore heavy air on Felucia. It had been purified by air scrubbers many times and recycled, but there still contained that taste, that smell of pollution.

But even that was better than some of the other places she had been to, like the burning smell of flesh on the battlefield or the black smoke of wreckage. Here, on top of this rooftop, she could find some semblance of peace and calm throughout the past few days. Ahsoka breathed in this air and tried to calm her mind. Out in the distance over all those durasteel structures, still visible, was the Jedi Temple. The sun had gone down and it was about 1700 in the day and the light was shining on the Temple in the distance, reflecting streams of light back at the ecumenopolis surrounding it. Ahsoka never really appreciated the beauty of the Temple until she could not return to it. She wondered what it was like for the other twenty Jedi that had left previously. She wondered if they ever missed it like she did right now.

_Vroomp-vroomp-vroomp-vroomp._

Ahsoka was startled out of her thoughts by this sound. She looked around for where it was coming from, and when she didn't see anything, she looked up in the sky. She felt a warning in the Force. Then she immediately ducked as something blue whizzed by her head. The thing in question landed several meters behind her, or crashed as it looked like the landing wasn't very smooth. The blue thing came to a halt and just stood there. Ahsoka thought it might have been some sort of space junk that had fallen out of a cargo ship as it passed overhead, but she had never seen anything like it before.

The box had some strange script on the side that looked like some sort of ancient basic. But as she continued to look at it, the letters became clear and she read "Police Box," and in-between the two words read, "Public Call." Ahsoka approached cautiously. There looked like there was a handle for a door and she was thinking about opening it when suddenly the door opened.

Ahsoka blinked in surprise. A young human man with slightly spiked hair can stumbling out of the box with white gas spewing out behind him. "Don't come near!" He said waving her off, and Ahsoka took a small step back. "Just give it a minute and it'll clear up." The man doubled over coughing. He was wearing a dark blue suit on with a tie.

Ahsoka became concerned immediately about the man. Not just because he was coughing so violently, but because his Force aura was so chaotic, and it radiated off of him in waves. "Are you alright?" Ahsoka asked cautiously as she went over to him to hold him up.

The man looked right at her, but at this close to him, she realized that he really wasn't _seeing_ her: his eyes had a slightly glazed over look to them. He muttered, "I'll be fine." Then he grabbed her hand and started to shake it, "I'm the Doctor by the way nice to meet you."

Ahsoka didn't really know what to say. She could feel conflicting emotions and other thoughts coming from this man, and it was almost overwhelming. "Umm, I'm Ahsoka?" she said confusedly and cautiously.

The man smiled and said "Nice to meet you!" He stood up and then put his hand to his head while swaying around. "Whoa, that gas must have had something in it because I'm…" he drifted off as Ahsoka looked at him. She could see that his eyes had cleared and he could _see_ her. The man uttered a soft "Oh." and then collapsed on the ground.

Ahsoka frowned at this display and went over to this man to check him to see if he was alright. She frowned even deeper when she put her hand against his chest, because she swore she felt two hearts. _Is he a near human? That might explain the two hearts but not much else. _She reached out with the Force again to check him again and almost recoiled when she brushed an impossibly strong mental barrier around his mind. _Whoa! Who is he?_ Ahsoka looked over him and recognized the signs of a person who had blacked out due to her time out on the battlefield. She looked around and realized there was nobody around who saw any of what had just happened.

_I guess I need to take care of him; I can't just leave him out here like this. _She thought, once again going into her Jedi teachings of selflessness and caring for others. She gathered the man up in her arms and partially drew on the Force to hold him up as she carried him to the turbolift. As Ahsoka went down, she tried again to probe his mind, but she was blocked once again_. His mind is very protected that's for sure. Who, or what is he?_

Ahsoka reached the room she had been using for the past two days now. She elbowed the door open and set the man down on the bed she used. Relieved of he burden, she sighed and suddenly wished she got a room with a chair. Begrudgingly, she accepted that she would have to kneel next to him to check him. Ahsoka went through all the medical tests she could do without equipment and the only two things she found out for certain was that this man had two hearts and that he was out of it. She had tried to wake him up both with the Force and more physical means but he stayed comatose throughout it.

Ahsoka started to get tired and sleepy. She looked outside and it was night again. She sighed and thought briefly of letting this strange man sleep on the floor, but after toying with the idea for a moment she sighed and went into a corner and tried to get comfortable for the night. Sleeping on the floor wasn't the most uncomfortable thing she had done, nor did it come close to the worst place she had slept. After only a few minutes, Ahsoka drifted off into a troubled sleep, plagued by dreams of strange sights and unfamiliar places.

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**The next chapter is when the Doctor wakes up and you'll see how Ahsoka and the Doctor react to each other. Will they get along, or will they bite at each other? Stay tuned! Also don't forget to review!**


	3. Chapter 3: Bad Start

**Here's the next chapter! This has the first interaction between Ahsoka and the Doctor and, well, you'll see how it'll go...**

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Daylight had come to Coruscant once again, and many of the citizens didn't notice the difference. Some were still inside, having spent the entire night doing whatever it is they do normally during the dark hours. Others were still asleep, and only noticed the sun because it shown directly through that one gap in their curtains right into their eyes.

One such person was the Doctor.

The Doctor was having an interesting dream where he was wandering around because he forgot something, but then a bright light started shining and the dream ended. The Doctor opened his eyes and noticed the light shining down in his eyes. He blinked once then twice before realizing that he was on a bed. He suddenly sat upright and took a good look around at his surroundings.

He was in an old room that looked like it had only just recently seen use. Dust was everywhere and he could see several series of footprints. The whole place looked rather pitiful, but the Doctor had seen worse, and had woken up in worse.

What caught his attention was a figure in the corner of the room. The Doctor had been all over the universe and he could honestly say that he had never seen the species that this girl came from (or at least he thought it was a girl, stranger things have happened). She was a little less than two meters and she had strange features, aside from the tentacles growing on her head, which the Doctor thought were either meaningful face-paint of their species, or, as he noted what seemed more likely, were facial markings inherent to her species. She looked about seventeen according to human standards, and she looked really tired.

The Doctor shifted and put his feet on the ground. Quietly he tried to walk over to the girl without waking her. _Fascinating! _He thought. _An entirely new race previously undiscovered. I wonder where the TARDIS took me this time?_ He looked around again noting the structure of the building. _Some sort of processed metal, similar to steel. That points to a good level of industrialness and civilization. But judging from the conditions of the place, this looks like some of the lower levels of culture. Typical. Where there is civilization, there is also poverty and want._

He looked at the girl again, trying to recall what happened after he materialized on this planet. _My memory is all a blur, and strangely, it feels like some parts are missing. _He frowned, trying to remember if he had forgotten anything. _Well that's like trying to make an amnesic person remember what just happened, or a goldfish, but goldfish actually have surprising memory if they remember you giving them food… which is about all they remember really…_

The Doctor was startled out of his internal monologue when the girl said, "Don't you know it's impolite to stare at someone?"

The Doctor blinked. The girl hadn't moved from her position and it looked like she was still asleep. But then she opened her eyes and stared right at the Doctor. Her eyes were amazingly blue, but they looked tired and red, like she hadn't slept in a while.

The Doctor blinked again and said, "Sorry, but who and what are you? I've never seen someone like you before."

The girl frowned and glared at the Doctor. "I think that you should go first. First off, what's your name?" She said, adding some venom when she talked.

The Doctor decided to tread carefully because he did not know what she could do. He tried the friendly approach. "Well, my name's The Doctor." He said putting his hands in his pants pockets.

The girl frowned again, thinking. "The Doctor. Just the Doctor? Doctor who?"

The Doctor smiled at this, his teeth showing. "Over nine hundred years and it never gets old." He dropped the smile and said seriously, "Yes, it is just The Doctor. Now what's next?" He added with a small smile waiting for the next question.

The girl still frowned at him, but decided to stand up and brush herself off to make herself more presentable. She paused a moment before asking the next question. "You're a near human so-"

The Doctor interrupted, "I believe the species you're looking for is "Time Lord". For me, all humans look like Time Lords so you can't say that I'm a near human." He paused, "How did you know anyway?"

"Two hearts. I felt them when I brought you down here-"

"And where is here exactly?" The Doctor interrupted again.

The girl frowned again, he facial markings almost meeting. "Coruscant of course."

The Doctor nodded in fake understanding. "Ahh, Coruscant." _Why does that sound familiar? I've never been there before._ "And… just where are we exactly on Coruscant?" He asked, playing along.

The Doctor noticed the girl avoided the question. "Hey, I'm the one asking the questions here." She said.

The Doctor was slightly amused at this girl's attempt to gain authority. "Sorry, just curious. Anything else you want to know?" He said, trying to suppress a grin.

* * *

Ahsoka was really annoyed with this so-called "Time Lord". Not only has he answered all of her questions indirectly, but he was also turning the questions right back at Ahsoka. She had been in enough interrogations to know the signs of the interrogator being interrogated. _Plus I'm loosing my focus. This isn't how it's done._ Then she thought, I need a question to get him on the defensive, something to throw him off balance. Then she had it.

"Just one thing more, just what was that blue box you came out of? Did you steal it from someone?"

The Doctor looked at the celling and shrugged, "Well, I didn't exactly _steal_ it… but that's beside the point." He said suddenly, probably realizing what the girl was trying to do.

"So you did steal it. What is it, an escape pod of some sort? You probably have something valuable inside don't you?" Ahsoka was beginning to feel better because the man who called himself the Doctor was starting to get flustered.

"For your information, I did not steal the TARDIS from-"

Ahsoka raised a facial marking. "TARDIS?" She asked.

The Doctor smiled, "It's my ship and it's called the TARDIS. It stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space."

Ahsoka had no idea what that meant and seeing the quizzical look on her face, the Doctor summarized, "It's a time machine."

_A time machine? Maybe this Doctor needs a doctor because there is clearly something wrong with him._ "Right. A time machine. And I'm a Sith." She said for the sarcasm.

Apparently the Doctor never heard of the Sith or sarcasm before because he said, "Oh so that's the name of your species. That's a new one, and trust me I've been to a lot of places and-"

That was as far as the Doctor got before Ahsoka lost it. _He talks too much, he's insulting, and now he dares claim that I'm a Sith!_ Before the Doctor could finish, Ahsoka used the Force to pick him up and pushed him against the far wall with a satisfying thud. He bounced off and landed on the bed. Ahsoka stomped over and grabbed him by the collar.

* * *

_Okay, looks like I hit a nerve. I tend to do that unfortunately._ The Doctor thought as he rubbed his head. _Telekinetic powers. Nothing new, but I wonder if it's normal for her people. _He stopped as the girl grabbed him by the scruff of his collar. _I really need to get this straight. _

"Did I say something wrong again? Because if I did I would like to know it so I can apologize please?" He said, hoping to salvage this situation before it got out of hand.

"Something wrong?" She yelled at him. "You think you said something wrong? You're kriffing right you said something wrong. Almost everything!" She released him and backed up two steps. She seemed to recover herself and then started again, deadly quiet. "Do not ever call me a Sith. Ever. You understand?"

The Doctor nodded, and waited for this girl to gather herself. She turned around and walked to the back of the room. She breathed in and out again, then turned around again. "Who are you and how did you get here?"

The Doctor situated himself better on the bed. "I'm telling you the truth. My name's The Doctor. I don't know how I got here because my ship malfunctioned and I crashed here. I inhaled some gas and I blacked out. The rest you know better than me at this point. Maybe if you explained some things, then I would be better able to respond. " The Doctor waited for her to question him again. The girl turned to look at him. She looked lost for a moment before seeming to come to a solution. She glanced down, then took a calming breath then begun to explain everything.

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**Muahhaha! You'll have to wait until the next chapter to see how this turns out! Suspense...**

**I almost called this chapter "Strange Bedfellows" (the Doctor did wake up in Ahsoka's bed.) but that could have turned into a bad fanfic real fast...**

**Anyway, I'm having fun writing this and it's a nice break from my other Star Wars story, not that I'm stopping it of course! So many situations that can happen here, the possibilities... **

**As always, Favorite, Review, and Comment!**


	4. Chapter 4: Simple Communication Skills

Ahsoka didn't know what to say. She had rescued crash survivors and had encountered… difficult people, but this Doctor was clueless. _Maybe he __**is**__ telling the truth,_ she suddenly thought. _If he is a Time Lord as he claims and he can travel through time, and if his ship did malfunction, then that would explain the blatantly ignorant comments he keeps making. He's not from this galaxy. _

With that thought, Ahsoka realized that she would have to start with the basics of the Republic and this galaxy. She looked back at the Doctor and when she saw him looking at her for an explanation, she sighed internally, realizing the inevitable. _But where do I start? What do I say?_ She took a breath and then started.

"You are on Coruscant," she began, "the capital of the Republic. Of this galaxy anyway." She added for his benefit. "I'm a Torgrutan, and my name's Ahsoka Tano." She stopped before she said that she was a former Jedi, something that this Doctor didn't need to know.

The Doctor took this pause as a sign to ask a question. "And being a Torgrutan lets you use telekinetic powers?"

"No, it's my affinity with the Force that allows me to do things like that." The Doctor nodded but Ahsoka could tell that he was still clueless. _He doesn't even know about the Force,_ she thought with some incredulity. "But that can wait for another time."

The Doctor nodded again, then said, "And what do you do? I can imagine someone with this Force powers could be considered an asset or a threat, so where do you stand in this Republic?"

_He catches on pretty quick._ "I stand no-where. But that's not your concern right now." Ahsoka said, avoiding the question. "Now, where do you come from? You said you are a Time Lord, so what does that mean?"

Ahsoka looked at the Doctor and she could see the sudden change of emotions in his eyes. They were at first confused and then curious, but then they changed. Something inside him welled up and was trying to be buried, but shone through his eyes. They were now filled with sadness and regret, and they looked _old_.

But as quick as they changed, they went back to being energized and cheery. But the oldness didn't leave. "The Time Lords once traveled through time and space across the universe and also through different realities." He said. "We kept the time line from being undone and also kept the universe from spiraling out of control."

"Just like the Jedi…" Ahsoka murmured. Little did she know that the Doctor took a keen interest in that name.

"Jedi? Jedi? Where have I heard that before?" The Doctor said. "What are the Jedi?" He asked.

Ahsoka decided to tell him, but keep the fact that she left the Jedi a secret. "We- **_the Jedi_**," she said strongly, internally cursing her slip up, "are an order made up of many different beings from this galaxy who use the Force. They try to preserve peace and justice in the galaxy using what is known as the Light Side of the Force."

The Doctor nodded in understanding and then said, "Yes, very noble if I do say so myself. If the Time Lords had known about the Jedi then we probably would have saved both of us some trouble in the long run. However…" He paused thinking. "If the Jedi use the Light Side of this Force, then there must be another, the other side of a coin, the polar opposite, light, dark, right?"

Ahsoka nodded slowly, "Yes, there is a group of people that use the Dark Side. They call themselves the Sith. They generally are the aggressors in all galactic conflicts, such as the Clone Wars right now, and are the enemies of the Jedi."

"Ahh, so that's why you were offended when I called you a Sith. Sorry about that by the way." Ahsoka just gave him the stare, not quite sure if she should trust the Doctor. "Ahem, anyway if I'm going to know about this galaxy, you might tell me about this Clone Wars you mentioned."

Ahsoka sighed. "I'll condense it for you. A rather large group of people got fed up with the way things were going and left the Republic, forming the Confederacy of Independent Systems. This split the galaxy and eventually fighting broke out on a planet called Geonosis when Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi found out that the Separatists were building a droid army. A group of Jedi arrived to try and stop the fighting, but most were killed in the initial battle. They would have all been killed if not for the clones which showed up under the Republic's authority."

The Doctor asked, "And where did these clones come from. I know several species that depend on cloning, both for armies and to survive and I would like to know more about them."

Ahsoka glared at him again but told him anyway. "The clones were genetic copies of a bounty hunter named Jango Fett. They take ten years to fully develop and have been training their entire lives to fight for the Republic. If not for the clones, none of the Jedi on Geonosis would have survived.

"After that initial battle, the galaxy erupted into a full scale war that is close to three years old now. That's the condensed version and don't ask me for the longer version because I don't feel like giving it." Ahsoka said before the Doctor could get started.

The Doctor looked slightly down, but bounced right back. "Well from what I gathered it seems that this galaxy is a very diverse place even if it is following the normal way people fight amongst themselves. I would enjoy traveling all over the place." He paused, his smile dying.

Ahsoka could sense something was wrong. "What's the matter?" She asked.

The Doctor shrugged. "Well, first off I have no idea what's here and how to interact with the people here so it might be a lost cause. Second, I don't want to interfere with the naturally occurring events of this reality. Third, and most important, I can't."

Ahsoka frowned at that answer. It sounded too similar to her reasoning for leaving the Jedi. "Something wrong?"

The Doctor looked directly at Ahsoka, his eyes boring into her. "Believe me when I say that I have been to the far ends of the universe and back, all across time. I saw every galaxy that exists come into formation and, once, saw when they were all gone. But I have never been to this one and that cam only mean one thing: that I have found a crack in my universe and fallen into yours. I'll need to seal the crack."

"And what happens if you don't?" Ahsoka asked.

"Maybe nothing. Maybe it'll collapse on it's own. It might also go unstable and destroy one universe or the other. But it might also continue to split until two universes are combined and that could negate and destroy both of them. I can't let the possibility of that happening exist."

"Oh." That was all Ahsoka could say. Although, how often do you hear something like that? What would anyone say?

There was dead silence for a moment. Both people reflected on the past few minutes. Then the Doctor stood up, "Well, I need to be off. As much as I enjoyed your company I'm afraid that I can't stay. I don't know what happens yet here and it would probably be better if I avoided any impact on future events, which I have a habit of not being able to follow that, but no time to start like the present."

"I see." Ahsoka said. For some reason, the thought of this man leaving seemed to be saddening to her. In the short time he had been there, she had barely avoided the depression that was threatening to consume her and had found something to occupy her attention instead of wallowing in the past. And now he was leaving. But she couldn't impose herself on him… or could she? "Do you think that-"

* * *

"No." The Doctor interrupted. When Ahsoka began her question, the Doctor had already pieced together several pieces of the puzzle that was Ahsoka. She was living in a run down place, which meant that she did not want to be there, or was forced to be there. She also seemed to be very touchy on the subject of the Force and the Jedi, which either meant that she was on the run from the Jedi, or that she was one. And the Doctor knew enough from experience to avoid members of orders that relied on special powers to aid them.

So when she was about to ask if she could join him, he had already made up his mind a long while ago.

"No? You don't even know what I was about to ask." The Torgrutan named Ahsoka Tano said, and the Doctor could tell she was upset but didn't even know it.

"Yes I did. I learned from past experience that people who want to join me get messed up in the end. I do not want that for you." Faces passed in front of his mind. Rose Tyler, left on a parallel earth. Martha Jones, a nurse turned into a warrior. Donna Noble, containing knowledge in her mind that could literally destroy her. All failures on his part. He promised to keep them safe, and he and been their worst enemies. He would not do this to Ahsoka.

Ahsoka looked down. Silently she said, "Don't worry if I get messed up. That already happened."

The Doctor frowned at her, wondering what that meant. She clearly has a past to her. And for someone so young too. She has seen things that no one should have. But that does not change my answer. "I'm sorry but my answer still stands. I do not want you to join me, for your own good. Being around me is dangerous. Too many people have found that out the long, hard way."

Ahsoka was still for a long time and the Doctor could see all the emotions running across her face, from sadness, to anger, then finally to resignation. She sighed and said, "At least let me see you off."

The Doctor looked at her and debated within himself. He knew what could happen just by letting people come with him for even a short time. But on the other hand, he did not think the girl would leave him alone and would do it anyway.

He gave a small smile. "It would be my pleasure."

* * *

I**s this the end of the journey already? How will the Doctor seal the crack? Cliffhangers... cliffhangers everywhere. **

**In the meantime, thank you for all the positive reviews! I promise to continue writing this story as quick as I can, but school recently started up for me and that may cause some delays. **

**Anyway, the usual applies: Review, Comment, Favorite, etc. **


	5. Chapter 5: One look, that's all

**Not much of an introduction is needed, this kicks off immediately after the last chapter. Small spoiler: we finally get back inside the TARDIS, but other than that, you'll have to read on. **

* * *

Ahsoka returned the smile. While she didn't expect the Doctor to accept her proposition, she didn't expect the harshness of his response. _He must have lost somebody that was special to him, but he puts up a façade to hide his pain. I unfortunately know the feeling, and he probably blames himself for it. But what can I do about that? Nothing really, the pain will remain on both our hearts, and can never be forgotten, only lessened. _

Ahsoka stepped to the side and held her hand out towards the door. "Shall we?"

The Doctor grinned and sprung to the door. He was out before Ahsoka could take two steps. She caught up to him at the turbolift, which he seemed to be having problems with. "It seems that this elevator is stuck, that is assuming that it's an elevator." He said cheekily.

Ahsoka frowned quizzically never hearing that word before. "Elevator?" She asked.

The Doctor pulled something metal out of his pocket that started to emit a high pitched buzzing sound and glowed blue at the end. "Elevator, something that takes you to other floors, a lift, called an elevator from where I'm from, or a lift depending on the where. Ah-ha!" He called out as the doors opened, seemingly satisfied with himself at fixing the problem. "Allons-y!" He said as he stepped in.

Ahsoka followed him, bouncing between annoyance and humor at the Doctor's actions and strange words, which were both infuriating and ingenious. "These things are called turbolifts," she said as they got in. "It's powered by a repulsorlift that makes it move up or down."

"Fascinating, now I assume that most of them aren't this decrepit?" He asked as he was using that same metal device again on the controls.

Ahsoka gave a snort. "Only the ones here."

Apparently whatever the Doctor was using worked and the turbolift started to reactivate itself. The Doctor put the thing away and asked her, "I assume my ship is on the roof, right?"

"That's where it was the last time I saw it, after I brought you back down to my room."

"All right then." He said, and then pushed the button for the roof level. The turbolift rose up at a gradual speed, not nearly as fast as the ones in the Jedi Temple, but considering the circumstances Ahsoka supposed that it was lucky to be moving at all. Whatever the Doctor used seemed to work wonders with technology.

"What is that thing you use to get technology working again?" She asked.

"It's a screwdriver." He said. When Ahsoka gave him the _"are you serious"_ look, he added, "Sonic Screwdriver. Comes in handy, but strangely doesn't work on wood. Really need to make a setting for wood one of these days."

Ahsoka just summed that up as just another incredible piece of technology that was just developed, or if he was a Time Lord, could have been developed decades ago.

"Centuries." The Doctor said.

"What?" Ahsoka said. _It was almost if he had…_

The Doctor smiled, "No I didn't read your mind, it was just what you were thinking. You want to know why and how, so you were wondering how old my screwdriver is and I answered. Centuries."

Ahsoka was confused. "How has it been around for centuries if…" Part of her mind caught up with her mouth and she stopped. "Oh right, different universe."

"Yep."

"You know, I still don't believe you about the whole "_crack in the universes"_ thing and you being a Time Lord." Ahsoka said accusingly.

The turbolift dinged, signaling that it had reached to roof. "Well maybe you'll believe me soon." The Doctor said as the door shakily opened onto the roof. He took two steps and then said, "Well would you look at that."

Ahsoka also came out and saw what the Doctor was looking at. From her perspective, it was just another day on Coruscant, the air filled with speeders of all sorts and the sunlight gleaming off of the polished durasteel towers. But apparently the Doctor wasn't expecting this.

He whistled and said, "How big is the city?" He went over to the edge of the building to get a better look.

Ahsoka responded. "The city covers the entire planet." When the Doctor turned to look at her with surprise written all over his face, she said smugly, "Right, like what I said is more preposterous than what you've been spouting."

The Doctor still was stunned. "A ecumenopolis." He said.

"Exactly. Coruscant boasts a population of over a trillion beings spread across the entire planet in 5,127 levels. The planet wide city called Galactic City was believed to become a ecumenopolis about 100,000 years ago."

The Doctor was speechless, and that was a rare thing for him. "Not even the Earth Empires built something like this on any of their planets. Even New Earth only had a few cities that looked like this, and they were only cities, not planets." He looked back at Ahsoka, "Truly amazing."

Ahsoka went over to join him. They both looked out over the metal buildings as far as the eyes can see. In the distance, Ahsoka realized with a chill going down her spine, they could see the Jedi Temple breaking over the horizon. Ahsoka shivered and was reminded of the journeys through the underlevels of Coruscant. "You probably wouldn't say that if you saw the underlevels. As someone once said to me, "not everyone lives in a luxurious temple."

The Doctor sighed, "It's astounding how often you would find that. You would think that in the universe there would be at least one galaxy that didn't have this problem, but the odds apparently weren't good there or here."

Ahsoka realized that she was putting a damper on the Doctor's spirits. "Sorry, I've just had a rough couple of days, and my outlook on life hasn't been all that cheery."

The Doctor gave a small smile to Ahsoka. "I think we are both in the same boat. Some of my recent journeys, while interesting, have not been as… _fun_, as I would have liked them to be." The Doctor said with some hesitation, clearly holding something back just as Ahsoka herself was. "Not to say they haven't been interesting." He spoke again, the cheery voice back and a smile on his lips. "Far from it, and being here certainly is one of the better things that's happened in a while."

"Even with a crack in the universe threatening to destroy everything?"

"Even with a crack in the universe threatening to destroy everything." The Doctor responded. "It's not everyday that I see something new and different. Thank you for this." He said gesturing towards the city.

"Hey, you were the one that crashed here. It's lucky that I found you before someone else did."

"Hmm. Yes it is."

* * *

"Hmm. Yes it is." The Doctor said. When he was reminded of Ahsoka getting him to relative safety, he realized that she did him a favor. _And I like to repay my favors_, he thought. But he was torn; on one hand, if he took Ahsoka inside, she might be repaid, but they might get caught up in something unexpected that often happens more times than the Doctor would have liked, and he didn't want another companion after what happened to his previous ones whose faces he could still see clearly. But on the other, then he would owe someone a favor that, if he sealed the crack, could never be returned. His eyes were lost in thought and he was glancing down at the ground. Suddenly, making up his mind, he turned to Ahsoka. "Anyway, do you want to see something incredible?"

Ahsoka looked confused. "What do you mean?"

The Doctor was unsure of himself as well. "I mean do you want to see the inside of my ship? I'm not going to take you with me for a trip, just to see the inside."

"You mean that thing?" Ahsoka said, pointing to the blue box on the other end of the roof. "It looks barely big enough to classify as an escape pod."

The Doctor walked over and pushed the door open. "You might be surprised. Now remember, only a look. Nothing else, alright?" He said urgently.

Ahsoka walked over to him. "Fine, only a look." She said, her voice still giving away her disbelief.

The Doctor walked in and waited for Ahsoka's inevitable reaction of _"It's bigger on the inside"_ that he never got tired of.

* * *

As soon as Ahsoka crossed the threshold, she gasped. A presence, a consciousness, came upon her in a rush as soon as she stepped in. She could feel the throbbing of life coming from all around her and could sense its Force presence. It was almost overwhelming, with all the memories and experiences coming onto her in waves.

She stepped out in a hurry to compose herself. _The ship is alive!_ She thought. _A living spaceship! Even the Separatists don't have that technology, and they would probably kill for it to replace their droid brains._

Stepping out of the blue box made the consciousness recede, but not tuned to it, she could feel it beckoning to her in comforting tones. She felt herself be drawn back inside and this time wasn't overwhelmed. "It's- It's," she stammered.

"Bigger on the inside. You know I never really noticed." The Doctor said, finishing her sentence the wrong way.

Ahsoka suddenly realized what the Doctor said and that it was definitely bigger on the inside. "Whoa, it is!" She rushed out again and circled around the box, checking to make sure that her eyes weren't deceiving her. She came back in and closed the door behind her.

The Doctor frowned. "You mean that wasn't the first thing that came to mind?" He asked.

Ahsoka shook her head and stepped closer to the control panel in the center of the odd room. She seemed drawn to the glowing cylinder in the center of the room. "No, I was going to say that it's _alive_. A living ship! How?"

"You can sense her? Is this something else that Force ability gives you?"

"That is one way, but I can feel that the vibrations are too erratic, unlike machinery. Is this something that the Time Lords can do, create living spaceships?"

"Actually TARDIS' are grown over a long period of time. But as far as I know, I have the only one left." The Doctor said.

Ahsoka looked around again. "So this is what you use to travel around?" When the Doctor nodded she added, "Beats hanging out in a starfighter that's for sure."

"Yep, plenty of space, and realistically all of time and space to travel through."

"So you can go anywhere?" Ahsoka asked.

"Any time, any place, any where." The Doctor said with a smile.

Ahsoka had to smile back. _This is incredible! I can't find the words for it. _

But before any of them could say another word, another voice spoke up, one that Ahsoka did not wish to hear right now. "Well that's good to hear, because frankly that makes up for waiting for you two to get back."

Both Ahsoka and the Doctor turned around and looked straight up. Crouched in one of the curves in a pillar was a bald, pale, woman. Ahsoka couldn't muster up the emotions she should be feeling to put it into words, so all she said in a bland voice was one word, one name.

"Ventress."

* * *

**Uh-oh. What does Ventress want? This can't go well for Ahsoka or the Doctor, but next chapter you'll find out!**

**As always, Read, Favorite, Follow, and Comment!**


	6. Chapter 6: Altering the Deal (Pt 1)

**So Ventress got inside the TARDIS, great. What is going to happen with her unexpected arrival now, and how will this change things? **

* * *

_Great, just what I wanted to avoid, more entanglements,_ the Doctor thought as he heard another woman's voice from inside the TARDIS. Once again his, "one look" promise was most likely going to get out of hand and he had a feeling that there wasn't much he could do about it.

That wouldn't stop him from trying however.

He turned around and looked up towards the celling. Crouching in one of the curves the pillars made was a hairless humanoid woman who looked like she was in her late twenties or early thirties. She had on a variety of clothing and armor that probably wasn't all for looks.

Ahsoka seemed to lose all energy her young frame had and her voice blandly said "Ventress." _Probably the woman's name,_ the Doctor thought. But then something else came to his mind.

"You know, I generally like having guests, but I don't like it when they're unannounced or uninvited," he said. He stared at the woman and she stared back, neither one breaking contact, waiting to see who would blink first.

After several tense moments, the woman was the first to look away. She turned her head to look at Ahsoka more directly. "Who's your new friend? Must be someone very important to have a ship like this."

The Doctor didn't like her patronizing tone, especially when it was aimed at Ahsoka who seemed like she couldn't get any energy to respond. "And that's another thing, how did you get in? It's not like I have a key for everybody that wants in."

Ventress turned to look at him again, then stood up in her perch. Before the Doctor could react, she jumped and did a flip before landing perfectly on her feet. She looked at the Doctor again. "You left the door open." She simply said.

_I left the door open? I left the door open? When did that happen?_ Then he realized that he did leave the door open to let the gasses out of the TARDIS. Now it was time for the Doctor to look away, before slapping his head in stupidity. "Of course, I left the TARDIS door open to let the gasses out. Sometimes I just don't think about what could happen." He said.

"How did you even know about this ship?" Ahsoka asked, seeming to recover a bit of energy. _These two must have a past to them to act this way and for Ventress to know Ahsoka_.

Ventress gave a small smirk and came closer to the two of them. "Now that is an interesting tale. I was looking for you after hearing what happened at the trial. It's all over the undercity now about what occurred, not that it wasn't new news to me. After a few days I finally saw you on top of this roof from another building and then this," she said waving her hands around gesturing to the ship, "fell out of the sky and landed here." She looked at the Doctor, "Imagine my surprise when he came out and you took him with you down inside. I thought you would know better by now not to risk your life for strangers." She said turning back to Ahsoka.

This finally seemed to break Ahsoka out of her stupor as she faced Ventress directly now. "That's something you learned differently than me. And you still haven't explained how you got in."

"I already said, the door was open. After you two went inside, I decided to take a look at what you," she said to the Doctor, "came in." She took a step back. "Needless to say I was surprised to learn that it was bigger on the inside."

"Ah-ha! Thank you, that's what I was waiting to hear!" The Doctor said, then stopped when he realized the two ladies were looking at him strangely. "Sorry, continue." He said.

Ventress gave him a funny look before doing just that. "Not only that, this ship is alive and I could feel her just as well as you could Ahsoka." She finally used her name this time, signifying to the Doctor that they weren't as adversarial as he originally thought. "I admit, I was curious to find out who owned this ship and I waited here for you to return."

"And now here we are!" The Doctor said, "I'm the Doctor, no last name, just the Doctor, and this is my TARDIS." He said that last part more to the ship than the two.

Ventress scowled at him in thought. "Is this what you use to travel through space and time?"

"Yes it is, but why is it your concern?" The Doctor asked, not liking where this seemed to be headed.

"It's not my concern _Doctor_," she said, "it's hers." She said pointing to Ahsoka.

"Mine?" She said surprised.

"Hers?" The Doctor said also surprised.

"Yes," Ventress said with frustration at the situation, "it's yours. You still owe me for helping you when you were on the run." The Doctor took note of that. "I helped you but I got nothing that you promised."

Ahsoka was worried, both because she didn't want to make Ventress angry and she didn't want the Doctor to find out about her past. She turned to the Doctor and said, "Can we have a minute? We'll just be outside."

The Doctor looked back and forth between the two women, considering what to do. _I could leave them outside and then go about my business, but I'm worried what this Ventress character would do to Ahsoka. Not to mention I still have no idea what is in this universe and where to start looking for the crack in the two universes._

"Fine," he finally said, "I'll wait for you. I promise I won't leave. Really." He said in response to Ahsoka's stare.

Ventress and Ahsoka both started walking outside, with Ventress in front, clearly displeased at the events. "We'll be just a minute." Ahsoka said, as she closed the door without it locking.

* * *

"What is going on? Why are we out here?" Ventress was disgruntled and becoming increasingly irritated. Ahsoka couldn't blame her, as she was starting to feel the same way. Although they had put their differences behind them, their personalities would probably continue to clash for as long as they knew each other.

"Look," Ahsoka said, wanting to put things right, "we need to get some things out of the way first before we go back in. I think we can both agree to that." Ahsoka waited for Ventress to nod.

"Very well," Ventress agreed, "but you explain things first. You know more about this _Doctor_ than I do, so who is he and why does he claim to be able to travel through time."

Ahsoka sighed, "I don't quite know yet myself, but he says that he's a Time Lord from another universe." She held up her hand to stall Ventress' outburst. "I know, I still don't believe it myself, but I don't have an explanation for this so I'm going off of what he said."

Ventress eyed Ahsoka, "A Time Lord? Right."

Ahsoka nodded, "Yea, but we don't know everything about the universe yet so it's a possibility."

"Don't you think that he is lying?" Ventress said.

Ahsoka frowned at that, thinking. "I don't think so. I don't sense any deceit from him." _That's not necessarily true,_ Ahsoka thought, _he is keeping a tight lid on his past, but I also want to do the same so I can't blame him._

Ventress didn't seem completely satisfied with her answer, but she moved on. "Fine, let's say I believe you. He is a Time Lord. So he can go anywhere anytime?"

"Apparently as he claims." Ahsoka said, then go a sinking feeling in her gut. "Why do you care?"

"I care because you seem to hold a favor from him. And you still owe me a favor since you never did speak on my behalf for a pardon."

"So this is what it's about, to reclaim a debt?" Ahsoka shook her head, "I suppose being a bounty hunter would make someone like that."

Ventress stepped closer to Ahsoka and pointed her finger at Ahsoka. "Listen you, I came to find you because, contrary to what you believe, I actually somewhat care about your wellbeing. Reclaiming a debt is just a side perk, a rather large side perk."

Ahsoka raised her eye marking in surprise. "Really? You care about my wellbeing?"

"I said that didn't I, so it must be true. Now that I see that you are fine, I'm here to collect."

Ahsoka spread her arms apart in a gesture of 'look around you' and said, "I'm not exactly in a position to speak to the Jedi Council or the Senate right now Ventress, so you can forget that."

"I know that. I'm changing your end of the bargain for the situation." Ventress said, and Ahsoka's sinking feeling got more intense.

She sighed, "What do you want?"

"Don't get so dramatic, it's not like I'm asking you to kill anyone. I just want something back that was taken from me."

Ahsoka got curious, there wasn't much she would expect Ventress to want to get back. "What is it?"

Ventress looked at Ahsoka and said, "I want my lightsabers back, and you're going to help me."

"Your lightsabers?" Ahsoka said, just now noticing that Ventress didn't have them. "What happened to them?"

Ventress glared at Ahsoka, not because of what she did, but because of the memory. "They were stolen by your ex-friend, Barriss Offee. You should have known that."

Ahsoka looked down at the ground. _How could I forget that? The last time I saw Ventress' lightsabers was when my supposed friend was attacking me with them, although I didn't know that at the time._ "So you want my help in getting them back? That's fine."

"I don't think that you would like this next part, but it's where I need your help the most." Ventress paused before continuing, "My lightsabers are being kept inside the Jedi Temple."

_That_ got Ahsoka's attention, and Ventress was right, she didn't like it. "You want me to help you to break into the Jedi Temple? Are you insane? Do you think that they'll just let us inside if we ask nicely? I don't know about you but I don't feel like they'll like you after what happened. Plus what if we get caught? We'll both be on the run again."

"If you'll be quiet for a moment, I'll explain my plan." Ventress said, forcing her way into Ahsoka's rant. "You know the way through the temple's security better than me, and plus you can go better undetected than me."

Ahsoka shook her head, "That still doesn't explain how we'll get inside. And don't ask me to do it. Even though I quit the Order doesn't mean I'll betray them anytime soon."

"Don't worry," Ventress said, which, strangely, made Ahsoka more worried, "that's where your new friend comes in." She said, gesturing to the blue box.

Ahsoka looked at it and them came to a decision. "No. I'm not going to drag him into this. He isn't even from this galaxy and he doesn't want to get involved in anything."

"Well that's too bad, because you're going to call in your favor and ask him. Otherwise, I'm going to make things difficult." She said, the threat not so implied as just said.

"Why are you dragging him into this?" Ahsoka asked wearily, wanting to get this over with.

Ventress gave a cunning smile, "I'm not, you are. I'm just giving you the motivation. Besides, you owe me and the Doctor owes you, so I'm just taking advantage of a chain of events."

Ahsoka thought about it. _If I refuse, then Ventress might get even with me another way, and I don't think I want to challenge her to unarmed combat even now. She's too strong for me as much as I hate to admit it. But what choice do I have? I don't want to impose upon the Doctor anymore than I already have. But I feel honor-bound to help Ventress. Force help me._

Ahsoka heaved a great sigh. "Alright, I'll help you, but don't tell the Doctor about me being an ex-Jedi and the bombing stuff. I haven't and I don't want him to know."

"That's fine with me, I don't care what you tell your friends. You just have to convince him to help. You're doing most of the talking. I have a feeling he doesn't like me."

"Can't imagine why." Ahsoka said as she pushed open the door back inside.

"Stuff it."

* * *

**The next chapter is a continuation of this one, where we get the Doctor's POV of events. It'll be a little shorter, but finishes this section. I'll upload it tomorrow or the day after then so don't wait too long!**

**As always Read, Review, Favorite, Follow, etc. **


	7. Chapter 7: Altering the Deal (Pt 2)

**As I said before, this one is shorter than previous chapters, but this was originally planed to be included in the first part so that's why. **

**Next, for those that asked: I plan to keep this strictly Star Wars and Dr. Who, mainly because I don't go into very many other universes. However, if you have a suggestion for something that the Doctor and Ahsoka could get into in the Star Wars universe, I'd be happy to listen because I would like to hear your ideas. I have a few but I would also like other people's insights. **

**Enough of that, here's the chapter.**

* * *

The two girls walked outside and for a moment the Doctor was very, very tempted to close the door all the way and take off. _But I promised, and besides, Ahsoka is owed at least that much. As much as I hate to admit it, she did me a great favor by taking care of me while I was unconscious. Who knows who would have found me or what would have happened if she didn't. Maybe that Ventress person would have, and she doesn't strike me as the friendly type. _

The Doctor walked around the controls again and pressed a few buttons then went over to the monitor. _I know I've heard the term 'Jedi' before and possibly Coruscant as well, I just don't know where or how. Maybe another traveler from this universe might have said it at one point, but I can't remember. And that brings up another interesting thought, if this is an alternate universe, I should have heard about it at some point from other Time Lords. I might not have traveled between universes as much as others, but that shouldn't mean that I don't know a little bit about each one._

He looked at the monitor and when temporal scans didn't reveal anything abnormal, he suddenly realized that he was stuck in an unfamiliar galaxy, and had no clue where to look for the crack. He tried the scan again. _I could ask Ahsoka, but I don't know if she knows, wants to know, or knows where to know. Wait, what? Never mind. Also, most importantly, I don't want to take her along with me. Too many others found out the hard way what happens when I'm around._

He looked at the scan results and saw that there was nothing once again. "Again?" He said aloud, then turned around and rested his back against the console and sighed. Then the thought of hearing the word 'Jedi' came up again and he decided to indulge his curiosity. He said aloud, "Access TARDIS data core on all information about an order known as the Jedi." There were a series of beeps and the Doctor turned to look at the monitor.

This is what the first part said: _The Jedi are a monastic, spiritual, and academic organization in the fictional _Star Wars_ universe.*_

After this, the Doctor stopped and walked around the room for a moment to get his head around this. _It says that they are in a fictional universe, so I must be in that universe. Obviously this is one of the products of the real theory where every alternate universe exists somewhere. So thanks to that crack in the universes, I'm in this 'Star Wars' universe. Lovely! Now why haven't I heard about 'Star Wars'?_

The Doctor checked where 'Star Wars' came from and read the beginning part of the data: Star Wars_ is an American epic space opera franchise centered on a film series created by George Lucas.*_

As the Doctor read, he realized that he should have at least heard about something this big, especially if it was from as far back as 1977. _So what happened to my memory? When I passed though the crack did it alter my memories to make it so that I don't remember this universe?_ He thought for a moment and didn't come up with a better explanation. _Also, there was that water like disturbance that appeared just as I materialized, so that possibly also had something to do with it._

The Doctor continued to read but came to the sudden realization that he can't and shouldn't alter events that happen here. _Even being here might alter something. _He stopped reading the data before he got to the details of the plot and rubbed his face for a moment. _I can't tell them that they're fictional characters and places because in this universe they're real as me. They'll think I'm crazy to begin with and it might, no, _will_, cause problems. If I read anymore, then I might want to get caught up in events here, and that might mess up the timeline. Plus it might produce spoilers for them, which would be future events for them. I don't want to do any of this. Why is it always me? _

He rolled his head back and for a moment was tempted once again to leave and try to figure out where the crack was on his own. _The last of the Time Lords. I can control time and space at will. I can change the future and the past according to my desires. The Time Lord Victorious. But as Adelaide Brooke from the first Mars base said, "the Time Lord Victorious is wrong." She was right. I can't control time; the best I can do is follow along and guide it. That's why I need to find this crack to save these universes._

_ But without knowledge of this galaxy I probably would cause more harm than good. I need information that is accurate to this galaxy, and probably without using the TARDIS' database to avoid altering events that haven't occurred yet. I'll have to create a new file so I won't accidentally access the one from my universe. Although I could always sneak a peak if we get lost. No, no! Not even then. Just no. _He thought to himself. _I need star charts, maps of systems and sectors, anything to help me pinpoint where the crack might be and cross off possible locations. And I need to get them here in this galaxy._

He looked towards the door again, wondering when the two ladies would be back. _The TARDIS probably has full biographies both on Ahsoka and Ventress. I have already altered their lives just by being here, who knows what happens now. I can't look at what happens to them. So now I, as always, try to minimize the damage, but as always, fail miserably._

Once again, the urge to leave them grew again, and this time he almost went through with it and found his hand moving towards the door locking lever. But before his hand touched it, he heard Ahsoka and Ventress' voices and they came back in. The Doctor put his hand down and pretended that he was busy working on something, then turned around and said, "Well, what have you two been talking about, because I have some really important stuff to do."

He looked at both of them and saw them also look at each other. _Oh great, what are they going to do? _He thought. He recognized that look as one that they were going to ask him something that they probably knew he was going to say no to.

"Ok, spit it out," he said, "what do you want?"

Ahsoka looked at Ventress again then spoke to the Doctor. "Actually, it's not what _I_ want." The Doctor gave Ventress a glare, but before anything ugly happened, Ahsoka moved to intervene. "She helped me in a tight spot by doing me a favor."

"A big one." Ventress said.

"And now she wants her end of the deal fulfilled." Ahsoka finished.

The Doctor looked at each of them then said, "That's nice, but I don't see why I'm tempted to help you. I mean we've got along after a while but we've just met." He said. _Please don't pull the 'I did you a favor so you do a favor for me for another person', _the Doctor thought, _because I know that it was also a big favor._

Ahsoka looked uneasy and at that moment the Doctor knew that she was going to do it. _Great._

"Sorry Doctor, but I still have a favor that you owe me." She said.

_I'm not going to be dragged into this that easily Ahsoka._ "And I repaid it, I showed you the inside of the TARDIS." He frowned slightly, "I did say only one look didn't I?"

Ahsoka sighed, "Yes you did, but I did, well, um, protect you when you were unconscious so that is kind of a big deal around here."

"Sorry, but I don't know what you want," he said taking a look at Ventress who had moved slightly off to the side, "and I doubt that it's anything decent."

Ventress scowled and walked threating towards the Doctor saying, "Listen you-"

Ahsoka hurriedly moved in-between the Doctor and Ventress and said, "She wants something back that was stolen from her, something very special. We're not asking much, just a ride in and out, if your ship can do what you say it can do. You don't need to even leave."

The Doctor was still glaring at Ventress. "Sorry, but I don't feel like being the getaway driver for a break in." He turned his gaze back to Ahsoka, "Now if where you were headed was a library or a data core I would happily go along because I do need star charts and historical data for this galaxy, so if you know the whereabouts of any good archives, then I could be persuaded to help you."

Ahsoka opened her mouth, then closed it again and looked at Ventress. They exchanged some sort of glance and they came to some unspoken agreement. Ahsoka turned back to the Doctor and said, "Actually, now that you mention it…"

* * *

**He-he, into the temple we'll go! That will be interesting to say the least. There'll be one more chapter before we get there so hang on, it's going to be a bumpy ride!**

**In other news, on ****March 7th they're releasing the Clone Wars on Netflix and it will include the 13 Lost Missions of season 6! Hoo-rah! Guess it's time to use the free trial runs they give you... hehe.**

*** = These first sentences were from Wikipedia. I have no idea how the TARDIS displays things like that so I improvised with the Wiki. **

**Anyway, R.R.F.F. (Read. Review. Favorite. Follow.)**


	8. Chapter 8: Working the Doctor

**Hey readers! Sorry for a late chapter but I've recently had a break through with another story I'm working on and haven't had the time to work on this one, among school work. I haven't forgotten about this so here's the next chapter!**

**BTW: this chapter is called "Working the Doctor" because working is what you do to to get someone interested in something, usually an item. IE: working the crowd. **

* * *

"Sorry, but I don't feel like being the getaway driver for a break it." The Doctor said, then he fixed his gaze back onto Ahsoka. She felt her heart sink when the Doctor said those words_. He doesn't want any part of this, _she thought_, and I can't say I blame him. I'm not looking forward to breaking into the temple myself after what happened…_she trailed off of that thought,_ but I have to keep my promises, even if I don't like them._

But the Doctor wasn't finished and he continued. "Now if where you were headed was a library or data core I would happily go along because I do need star charts and historical data for this galaxy, so if you know the whereabouts of any good archives, then I could be persuaded to help you."

At the word "Archives", Ahsoka's heart leapt. She almost blurted out, _That's were we need to go! _But she held her tongue. _Archives? Did he really just say archives? That might be the key to get him to come with us! _

She looked back at Ventress to see if she heard that. Their eyes met and Ahsoka knew that Ventress was thinking the same thing. Ventress shrugged as if to say, _"whatever gets him to help us"_, but kept silent, letting Ahsoka do the talking.

Ahsoka turned back to face the Doctor and said, "Actually, now that you mention it, where we need to go does contain the most complete records anywhere in this galaxy."

That got the Doctor's attention, but he didn't show it and tried to act nonchalant about it. "Oh really?"

_Ok, so now I need to stress the importance of the Archives to hook him in,_ Ahsoka reasoned. "Yep. Star charts, historical records, you name it. Everything you want to know about the galaxy and its history in once place."

"And it just happens to be where you need to go." The Doctor said, acting as though he didn't believe her. But Ahsoka knew better. _You may be a Time Lord, Doctor, but you still have body language to read._ She knew it right after the Doctor spoke because she could see that his interest and concentration on their dialogue increase.

"Coincidentally, yes." She said, then gestured to Ventress and back at herself, "We can go do our thing, and while we're doing that, you could copy the stuff you need to get around this galaxy and wait for us to get back."

The Doctor thought about this for a moment, and then came to a decision. "What makes you think that I'll be done before you?" He said with a joke implied.

Ahsoka deadpanned, "With our recent string of luck, you can count on us being late." She spoke normally next, "So are you going to help us?"

"Alright, before I agree to anything, which I might not," he added, "let me get this straight. If I help you, I can get all the information I want. She," he said talking about Ventress, "gets her whatever stuff back, and you," he said about Ahsoka, "get her off your back for this deal you made."

_Couldn't have put it better myself, _Ahsoka thought. "Exactly." She hoped the Doctor would buy it because, frankly, it was a long shot in her opinion.

* * *

The Doctor mulled over this for a moment. He still didn't like the feel of this whole thing. He could tell Ventress was a shady character putting it mildly, and he could see the mental pain that was impressed on her. Some of it looked like it was done by others, but most was self-inflicted. He could see that in her movements and her eyes. She had seen horror and loss and anger and that had hurt her, but she kept a straight face and pushed through.

Ahsoka however…

She was an enigma to him. She was young but had experienced things that would put most adult humans to shame. She knew how to use this Force that seemed to exist in this universe, and that either signified that she had training or is just a prodigy of the Force. Ahsoka seemed like a nice girl but something Ventress said about her being on the run put doubt on that assumption. True Ventress is a less than reliable person, but Ahsoka made no attempt to correct her statement.

_That begs the question, what was she running from? Someone or something? And what caused her to be on the run in the first place? Ahsoka is clearly hiding something and I want to find out why. _

Much to his reluctance of taking people along with him again, he needed to find the crack in the universes, and the prospect of getting the data he needed, having somebody that knew this galaxy, and helping a friend outweighed his reluctance of taking them along.

But it was still a close thing.

"Fine, I'll help you. But don't expect me to come rescue you if anything happens." He said.

Ahsoka visibly relaxed and was relieved. "Thank you." She said.

"Don't thank me yet, you still haven't told me where we're going." The Doctor said looking over to Ventress.

Ventress uncrossed her arms and sighed, rolling her eyes. "Are you always so focused on the details Doctor?"

He frowned and said, "When two strangers come into my home and tag team together to get me to do something, yes."

A hint of a smile played across Ventress' lips for a moment. "A wise decision." Then her scowl returned. "But why does it matter so much to know where we'll be going? You aren't from around here so you don't know anything around here."

"Better to start learning now than regret it later." The Doctor retorted. "I also like to know whether the place we're going to is guarded at all. Further I think you are avoiding the question: where are we going?" The Doctor said, his voice implying that he didn't want to play games anymore.

Ventress placed her hands on her hips and said, "The Jedi Temple." She tried to act like it was no big deal, but the damage was done.

The Doctor rounded on Ahsoka. "The Jedi Temple. As in a temple built by the Jedi. The Jedi who you said were trying to preserve peace and justice in the galaxy? And you want to break in there?"

Ahsoka looked over the Doctor's shoulders back at Ventress and said, "Told you." Then she looked at the Doctor. "Listen, I know you have reservations about this, but think of the alternatives."

The Doctor _did_ think about them. Leaving Ahsoka with Ventress. _Ugh._ Wandering an alien galaxy with no clue what he was doing. _Usually what happens but would like to avoid._ Having a crack in two universes spread to envelope and destroy both. Highly unfortunate to say the least, which it is.

"Alright, you made your point. I'll help you, but because _I_ want to, not because you asked. And after that we part ways alright?"

Ahsoka looked downcast, but agreed. "After we're done we part ways."

The Doctor said, "That's that then." Then he smiled and said, "So what's the plan?"

Ahsoka paused then turned to look at Ventress with a quizzical frown on her face. "What is the plan? We didn't get that far."

Ventress growled, "I have a plan, but it needs to be… modified."

The Doctor's smile started to slide off his face. "Oh this is just great."

* * *

**I know this is shorter than my other chapters (and sub-par by my standards) but I promise that the next one will be longer... and we'll finally get inside the Jedi Temple! All next chapter! Stay tuned!**

**R.R.F.F. as always!**

**-OrangeGalen**


	9. Chapter 9: Adjusting the Plan(ItT)(Pt 1)

**Hey-o! Sorry for the late update, but it's finally up! So here it is, the beginning of their journey through the Jedi Temple. This'll probably last about 3-4 chapters so this will be the first major arc of this story! And I say that because there will be more, I can assure you of that. Now if I can only start writing them...Ha ha! Sorry I'm rambling. Here you go!**

**_*Important:_ This chapter has the abbreviation (ItT), meaning _Inside the Temple_. It's the story arc, but each chapter will be individually named. So this one is fully titled Chapter 9: Adjusting the Plan/Inside the Temple (Pt 1). **

* * *

Ahsoka rolled her eyes at Ventress' statement. "Modified. Right. Just how _modified_ does your plan need to be?" Ahsoka said sarcastically.

Ventress growled, "Listen you, would you rather we walk up to the temple through the front door and ask for my lightsabers, or do you want to listen to what I have to say?"

_Couldn't hurt to ask,_ Ahsoka thought sarcastically. She didn't respond to Ventress but she still wore a smirk on her face. Ventress eyed her for half a second before turning to the Doctor. "This ship can travel anywhere?" She asked him.

"Yep." The Doctor said, either deciding to not elaborate how it could or if he was just said that brief response to annoy Ventress.

"So theoretically we can appear inside the Temple anywhere I choose?" She asked.

"I believe the correct phrase is _technically_ we can appear inside the Temple anywhere _I _choose." The Doctor said, "And since you said that this Temple has the archives I've been looking for, I'm choosing to go to the archives. You'll just have to go where you need to go from there."

Ahsoka looked at the bolts of lightning the two were shooting at each other from their eyes and thought, _the Doctor's having _way_ too much fun messing with Ventress._ She could see underneath the scowling the signs of hidden amusement coming from the Doctor. But then another thought struck Ahsoka and filled her with sudden worry; _I hope he doesn't push her too far. While she may not be Dooku's assassin anymore, she still is a former Sith acolyte. She might do something rash if provoked._

And indeed, Ventress looked like she was ready to punch the Doctor. But somehow she held back and resisted the urge. "Fine," she said tensely, "we'll do it your way." She reached into one of her back pouches and pulled out a holographic display. She activated it and it showed a holographic projection of the Jedi Temple. Ahsoka and the Doctor came closer so get a better look, and Ahsoka noticed that the Doctor pulled a set of glasses out of one of his pockets and put them on.

"So Doctor," Ventress said, "this is the Jedi Temple."

"Nice." Came his reply, and now Ahsoka found herself a little annoyed. _Nice? Is that all he can say? Although, he hasn't seen the thing in person so I guess he can be excused for the moment._ Ahsoka then had a sudden pang of longing for the relative comfort of her Jedi quarters. _I guess I never fully realized how much the Temple meant to me until I was gone._ She even seemed to miss sharing quarters with Anakin, even if his side was messy. _It's all gone now,_ a little part of her mind said to her, _and you're never going to feel that way again, or have someplace to call home._

Ahsoka shook herself and refocused. Ventress had manipulated the hologram so it showed the interior of the temple, and every level in detail, Ahsoka noted with interest.

"We'll wait until night before we move. The Archives are here Doctor." Ventress said, highlighting a spot in the temple with a red dot. "So at your _instance_ that's were we're going to go first."

Ahsoka had to interrupt, "How did you get such accurate information about the Temple? It's not as if we share it with the galaxy."

Ventress gave her a smug look. "You forget who I am and who I used to work for."

Ahsoka remembered, _Count Dooku, the sleemo, used to be a Jedi._ _Of course he would have some information about the Temple, and since Ventress is a former Separatist commander, she would have gotten updated data from their spies._ Ahsoka didn't like the thought of where the holomap came from, but she went along anyway.

"Ok fine, so we go to the Archives, then what?"

"Then we find my lightsabers." Ventress looked at her. "And that's where you come in. As much as I know about the Temple, I have no idea where they would keep my lightsabers. I hope you know." She said.

Ahsoka realized that the Doctor was looking at her with a particular expression on his face and Ahsoka decided to be careful. _I still haven't told him that I was a Jedi, and why I left in the first place. I have to dance around that for now._

She cleared her throat and said, "I don't know exactly where they might keep your lightsabers, but my best guess would be in the lightsaber construction room. We can start from there."

Ventress looked at the Doctor, "Now unless you feel like accompanying us there…"

"Which I won't be." He said.

"Then we'll have to get there on foot from the Archives." Ventress finished.

Ahsoka frowned. "That won't be easy. The hallways should be monitored and if they see either one of us they will respond quickly."

"Then we'll have to go fast." Ventress said.

Ahsoka sighed, "Figured as much."

"Just where is the Temple?" The Doctor asked, "Specifically the Archives?" I need to know where I'm materializing otherwise we could be off and find ourselves in the middle of somebody's room." Ahsoka smirked at the mental image of appearing in Yoda's quarters and startling the Grand Master.

Ventress gave him the coordinates and then the Doctor said, "Anything else we should plan before we go?"

"Just be prepared to get us after this plan goes to pieces." Ahsoka deadpanned.

Ventress glared at her, "Ha-ha."

The Doctor swiftly took off the glassed and said, "Well, let's not waste anytime shall we?" He moved around the control panel and pressed some buttons, then pulled a lever and the entire room suddenly lurched to one side forcing Ahsoka and Ventress to grab hold of something while the Doctor held on with the lever.

Two things went through Ahsoka's mind right then. The first one was, _What is he doing? Is he trying to destroy his ship with all this shaking? _

The second one wasn't really much of a thought, but a surge of feeling. As soon as the Doctor pulled that lever to do whatever, Ahsoka suddenly felt the Force rush into the ship. She was surrounded by it and she felt it flow through her like a waterfall. She could suddenly feel everything, she was so in tune with it. She could feel the ships' consciousness woven into everything. She could feel the fabric of reality rushing past on the outside. And she could almost see inside the Doctor's mind. Overcome with curiosity, she probed the Doctor's mind and could see almost everything that he knew. She felt the mental barrier the Doctor had, but it couldn't match Ahsoka's newfound Force senses. She had almost pushed past them when the Force suddenly cut off.

Ahsoka gasped. She felt more than heard Ventress do the same, as she had experienced something similar to what Ahsoka felt: a rush of Force power and heightened senses. Then it suddenly cut off. Ahsoka pushed herself up and realized that the shaking stopped. She could still feel the Force, but it felt normal now, like she normally felt it. Whatever happened had suddenly given Ahsoka a new insight into the Force, and from the looks of it, Ventress had the same happen.

"What just happened?" Ventress said, recovering more swiftly from practice than Ahsoka.

"We arrived." The Doctor simply said, looking at the monitor. "We are inside the Archives of the Jedi Temple."

"What?" Ahsoka said as she straightened up.

The Doctor looked at them with a slightly quizzical look. "You said that you wanted to go here. Well actually I wanted to go _here_ here specifically, but we're _here_ for you two." He stepped down and made his way out the door.

Ahsoka and Ventress just looked at each other. "Did you feel it as well?" Ahsoka asked.

Ventress frowned, "If you mean the Force rush that happened when whatever the Doctor did, then yes. I don't have an explanation, but he probably does."

Ahsoka nodded and realized then that the Doctor had just walked out into the middle of the Archives in broad daylight. "Uhh, maybe we should go after him?" Ahsoka said as she went to the door as well.

Ventress snorted and shook her head, but went out anyway; silently preparing to face what was out there waiting for them.

* * *

The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS into a long hallway that had two tall cases of datapads on either side. He looked around and saw that the hallway extended down for some way, but closer to him on the right was a big open rotunda. He didn't see anybody there so he walked into the area. The celling was high up and had several stain glass mosaics of what he guessed were pieces of Jedi events. It was night outside and he supposed the mosaics would probably look better in the day. He had instinctively set the TARDIS to appear in the planet's midnight hour when he assumed that there would be less people, if any. He looked around and saw that there were three other hallways aside from the one he materialized in leading in different directions. He assumed that these were wings and each one had a different section to it.

But beyond that, he had no clue where to start.

It was then that he heard a snore and looked around wildly, before seeing the culprit. It was a young human boy with black hair and tan skin sitting in the center desk. The Doctor went closer and made sure that he was sleeping. He definitely was. _Well that's good news, caught him sleeping on the job it seems, _he thought with some amusement.

He heard Ventress and Ahsoka come out of the TARDIS and went over to them. They looked really confused as they also entered the rotunda. The Doctor spoke quietly to them. "Well here we are. Keep your voices down, you don't want to wake him up," he said pointing to the boy in the center desk.

Ventress spoke first. "How is it night? It was near midday when we started."

The Doctor smiled, _they still haven't grasped the concept of the time machine part._ "Time machine remember?" He said. "I set it so that we would go several hours into the future. It's now 12 o'clock midnight Coruscant time. Coruscantan? Coruscanti? How would you say it?"

Ahsoka still seemed to be recovering from being several hours into the future, but she said absentmindedly, "Coruscanti."

"Well there you go, 12 o'clock Coruscanti time. Now," he said sticking his hands in his pockets and looking around, "do you know where I should start?"

Ventress looked impatient, Ahsoka sighed and started pointing out each hallway," You probably want to start in the first hall over there," pointing to her right. "That's the History and Philosophy hall, so that's where you can read up on this galaxy. Next is the Math and Science hall," pointing to the hall across from them," but you probably don't need that. Then the third hall is Geography and Politics," the hall to their left, "probably a good idea to go to. Last is this hall," she said pointing behind them, "which houses data on Nature and Diversity.

"Now, we need to get going before somebody notices us. Or before Petr-_he_ wakes up." Ahsoka quickly said, trying to cover her slip up that she knew the Initiate. "The main entrance is down the first hall, so keep a look out for anyone coming in."

Ventress had enough chitchat, "Let's go." She said and started walking out.

Ahsoka gave the Doctor one last look before she followed Ventress out. Then the Doctor was alone, well except for the sleeping kid. "Alright," he said to himself, "lets get started."

* * *

**As the Doctor said, lets get started. I've cleared out some minor writer's block so the chapters should come more frequently now (don't hold your breath though...). The Doctor inside the Jedi Archives, Ahsoka and Ventress wandering though the Temple, what could go wrong? Answer: So much. So so much. **

**Anyway, I'll leave it off at that. Not much left to say. **

**(R.R.F.F) -OrangeGalen**


	10. Chapter 10: Into the Archives(ItT)(Pt2)

**Hey readers! This is a big moment for this story, well not really but for me, because this chapter finally broke the 2,000 word barrier that I've been having (and these messages at the beginning and end don't count). At first I thought this chapter would be difficult to fill, but the writing just came to me and flowed out. Best feeling right there. **

**Anyway, when I last left off, the Doctor was just about to get around to the Jedi Archives. Now we will see where that takes us as well. **

* * *

The Doctor walked back inside the TARDIS. He wasn't going to leave, but he was going to get something that would make his job a lot easier. Inside, he went over to the back wall and opened up a compartment.

_There you are,_ he thought, _haven't had much occasion to use you._ He pulled out a data scanning device that could be used to create a copy of anything it scanned and converted in any way it needed to be, weather you preferred old style reading, or electrical pulses if you were partially robotic. It could even restore damaged files and lettering. It looked like an old photocopier that was used back on Earth, but slimed down and much more portable. _One of my own creations,_ the Doctor thought proudly, _and it beats having to keep the original data any day._ He walked out of the TARDIS carrying the scanner and went over to what Ahsoka said was the first hall for the history included there. He had no intention of looking through the philosophy part, but he might anyway because that's who he is.

Reaching the first shelf, he set the scanner down on a table and started looking though the shelves for relevant data. Since the TARDIS could translate any language, he had no trouble reading the labels on the books and data pads. He pulled out several books at a time, and put several back. He found an old book labeled, _History of the Galaxy_ and grabbed that too, thinking it might be useful in some way, but then immediately put it back when he saw next to it, _History of the Galaxy: 14__th__ Revised and Updated Edition_, which was way fatter and newer.

_Let's see,_ he thought_, I don't have time to look through each individual planet's history so reader's digests should do fine._ He carried his sizable stack of books and datapads back over to his scanner and placed them on the table, careful not to make too much noise. _History of the Galaxy: 14__th__ revised and Updated Edition, first up!_ He opened up the scanner's lid, which was adjustable for such large books, placed the book on the scanner and hit scan. A whirring sound came and two seconds later, the side read {DATA SCANNED & COPIED}. He then replaced the book with a datapad that had the current data on what the Doctor supposed was the governing body of this Republic as Ahsoka said. After that was scanned and copied, he methodically did the same to the other materials he picked up.

After the Doctor scanned something labeled _Pre-Republic Era, The Force Wars of Tython_, he stared at the pile he had, suddenly realizing he had a dilemma: He didn't know where he got the stuff from, so he couldn't put it back, but he couldn't leave it out because somebody would know that somebody else had been there. The Doctor pondered his for a moment before realizing that he didn't have any time to lose and he would unfortunately have to leave the books and datapads lying on the table. _Shame, I hope the librarian isn't too old to put them back themselves,_ he thought then suddenly realizing that he used the old librarian stereotype. _Oh come on, really? I was a librarian too once. Well actually a schoolteacher, but sort of the same thing. Both have that aura to them that makes them demand respect,_ he thought haughtily.

He blinked and realized that he was still in the archives. _Oh, yea, moving on._ He moved amongst the shelves again, gathering everything that seemed like it would be useful, and he had to catch himself several times when he would start reading a book before he had scanned it. _With all the materials in here, I could live out the rest of my regenerations reading this stuff. Of course, this doesn't compare to the Library, _he thought, referring to the planet converted completely into a library holding a copy of every book ever written.

He also took the time to look at several busts of Jedi of the Order that had either died or left for reasons that the little plaque didn't state. _There are quite a few Jedi that have died for their cause, but why doesn't it give the reasons for some leaving entirely?_ He shook his head and moved on with his work.

He had moved around fully through the bottom floor and the table had piles of books and datapads on it. The Doctor attempted to put them back, but only managed to put away a few before he needed to move on, still leaving a sizable pile on the table. He noticed that there was a second story to the archives, _but with my tight schedule I probably shouldn't_. He gathered up the data-scanner and moved to where Ahsoka pointed out where the geography and politics sections were held.

As he crossed the rotunda, he noticed that the boy in the chair was still asleep and snoring. A ghost of a smile played across the Doctor's lips, but then he shook his head and went back to work.

Once again he set the data-scanner on a table and busied himself again with gathering materials to scan. There were quite a bit of materials that the Doctor could use, so he started with trying to find star maps and charts. Before he found those however, he got several interesting data collections about how the Republic was formed, the line of chancellors that led it (though from experience the Doctor questioned how much they actually "led"), and how the system actually worked. Many of the books and pads seemed like they haven't been used in a while as there was some dust left over on the Doctor's fingers. Only a few of the more recent additions seemed like they were used, but not much.

_Curious, _the Doctor thought_, even in a library as this, books should be at least cleaned. _He looked over his shoulder at the boy sleeping and thought, _probably what he's supposed to be doing besides sleeping._ _But one person, a boy, for the night shift? There should be more helpers than that. Is there a worker shortage, or have all the Jedi decided to take the night off?_

But then he was reminded of something Ahsoka said earlier about a planet called Geonosis and a battle that took place there: "_eventually fighting broke out on a planet called Geonosis when Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi found out that the Separatists were building a droid army. A group of Jedi arrived to try and stop the fighting, but most were killed in the initial battle. They would have all been killed if not for the clones…"_

_So that's why there are so few Jedi here,_ he realized,_ they're all out fighting a war or were killed in he opening battle. A shame really, I might have even been allowed in if I asked politely. War has a bad habit of creating mistrust and fear_.

The Doctor shook his head sadly then got back to work. Several books had general briefs about different societies in this galaxy and their cultures, which the Doctor thought would be handy, considering that he didn't know, or remember, anything about this universe. He searched some more and finally found the star charts he was looking for. He gave a loud "Ah-ha!" of satisfaction before he remembered where he was and quieted down. The boy at the desk had moved slightly, but was still sleeping. The Doctor shook his head; _I've got to be more careful. Anyone could come in at any moment and ruin Ahsoka's plan._ He paused a moment, _I wonder how that's going. No alarms have been sounded so everything must be good so far. _

He scanned the datapad with the star charts on it and found a few more, one was interestingly called _Exploring the Unknown Regions: Notes, Hyperspace routes, and New Discoveries._ He scanned all the ones that he found and once again couldn't find where most of them went so he left them on the table again.

He was about to make one last trip around the hall when his eyes caught something. He stopped in mid step and turned around. At the beginning of the hall, at the shelf closest to the rotunda was one of those bronze busts of a Jedi. But that wasn't what caught the Doctor's attention; there were plenty of different busts around ranging from humans, to a species that had long skinny necks. No, what was different about this one was how familiar this one looked.

The Doctor stepped closer to this one and stopped right in front of it. The Jedi in question was a young woman with three head tails. Her face was rounded and her chin was small and slightly boxy. But that wasn't the only thing. She was a Torgrutan, and her facial markings were exactly like the only other Torgrutan the Doctor knew. He looked at the plaque to make sure, but in his hearts he already knew it. He had had his suspicions ever since they got on speaking terms and she accidentally let it slip a few times. But what the plaque read changed his original thoughts.

_Ahsoka Tano_

_Born: 1 BrS_

_Clawmouse Clan_

_Jedi Padawan 13 GrS - 15 GrS_

_Helped win the Battle of Christophsis, coordinated the defeat of a Separatist fleet over Ryloth, destroyed major droid factory on Geonosis with Barriss Offee, defended the king of Mon Calamari, saved the population of Kiros from slavery, helped free Onderon from Separatist control, among other heroic deeds. _

___Stayed true to her convictions even in the face of overwhelming odds._

_Left the Order in 15 GrS due to differences with the Council_

"She is fearless. No one has her kind of determination."

_-Anakin Skywalker, her master. _

The Doctor stared at the plaque. _It's so descriptive, yet explains so little. Why did she leave exactly? What caused her to disagree with the Council? So many questions I have to ask her before I go._ He stopped. _Before I leave her. I have to; she wouldn't be the same if she stayed with me. Like so many others she would be changed, not herself anymore. I can't do that to anyone again. I've caused so much damage, so much pain. I cannot! How can I even consider taking her with me!_ He thought with disgust.

But something began to gnaw at the back of his mind, a little voice that said, _"You need someone to keep you under control."_

_I can do that myself._ The Doctor thought.

_"Oh really? Since when?" _

_I've always been able to. _

_"You forget to though. Even worse is when you choose not to. Do the words "Mars Base One" ring a bell? Or how about Time Lord Victorious?" _

_That was a mistake, it won't happen again._ But even as he thought that, he knew how weak that sounded.

_"Of course it won't, until you decide to do it. Then you'll do it again, and again, until you can't stop. Is that what you want? To become ruler of Space and Time?"_

_No! I will not! I cannot, and I know where I'm going with this, _the Doctor thought, _I'm trying to convince myself to take Ahsoka along with me to make sure I don't go off the deep end again. What's really interesting is that I'm arguing with my own mind and I can almost feel myself losing,_ he thought. _Now is not the time for this._

_"Very well, but you will find yourself in this position again very soon."_ At that the voice disappeared back into the Doctor's mind.

_Well that was interesting, _the Doctor thought with some amusement.

_*Knock* _

The noise reached the Doctor's ears and he froze, his head still bowed looking at the plaque. _What was that?_ He thought with some fear._ Was that my imagination?_

*Knock*

The Doctor's head shot up at the second knock, now that he knew it wasn't in his mind. The words came back to him; the prophecy. _He will knock four times._ Those words haunted him, and will continue to haunt them until he stopped them… or they stopped him.

*Knock*

At the third knock, the Doctor spun around to confront the sound. He started when he saw the culprit. It was a young human male with brown hair that was long enough to go to his shoulders in the back. His eyes were a deep blue and were filled with questioning and an intense emotion that the Doctor couldn't identify. There was a visible scar along the right side of his face that showed that he had experienced action before. He wore dark brown robes bordering on black. The man's right arm was covered in a black glove, but the Doctor could tell that it was a cybernetic replacement arm. The man had this hand still above the table and was in the action of knocking again when the Doctor turned around.

The man lowered his hand and placed it on the table. His eyes narrowed in suspicion and he opened his mouth. "What are you doing here?"

The Doctor only had one thought in his mind: _Uh-oh._

* * *

**I'll give you three guesses as to whom the Doctor encountered, and the last two don't count. So what do you think is going to happen now that the Doctor is caught? Will he get out of this, or will he be captured? You'll find out soon enough! Insert maniacal laughter here. Heh, sorry. **

**So that's it for now, and as always R.R.F.F. **

**-OrangeGalen**

***Note, ****BrS**** means Before the Great Re-Syncronization, and ****GrS**** means Great Re-Syncronization. I believe that it is the correct date system that the Republic uses, because they wouldn't know about the Battle of Yavin yet, which is what all the dates in Wookieepedia are in. So the dates in this story are ****_1BrS=36BBY, 13GrS=22BBY, 15GrS=20BBY_****. It currently 20BBY during the story. **


	11. Chapter 11: Reliving the Past

**I have returned! Sorry it's been so long since I updated and frankly, I have no excuses (or no _good_ excuses, aside from school work, laziness, reading other FanFics, and general laziness). I'm hoping that the fact this chapter is twice as long as average can help alleviate some of the... whatever the word is. **

**Moving on, this chapter jumps back in time a little bit coming from Anakin's POV. I felt that this chapter and the next one needed to be added, and I consider them to be NOT filler, as I think it is a story that needs to be told. Anyway, here you go readers: devour this chapter!**

* * *

**Note: This chapter has been edited. Small detail needed to be fixed, no worries. **

* * *

Anakin woke up later than normal, and spent several seconds wondering why he felt so tired, and so miserable. Staring at his celling and tracing the small cracks in the plaster with his eyes, he tried to remember with his sleep-fogged mind why he felt this way. He sat up with a groan. As he did that it all came rushing back to him, and he clutched his head in emotional distress.

Yesterday Ahsoka left the Order. Less than half a day has passed since that happened.

_How could I forget, even for a moment?_ Anakin thought. _How?_ He mentally kicked himself and threw a punch in for good measure. I feel like this is all my fault. Why couldn't I do more? Why couldn't I stop this from happening? Why didn't I see this?

He groaned again and put his feet on the floor, his body and mind not ready to face the day. Anakin stayed like that, replaying the events of the past few days in his mind, for a long time. Anakin and Ahsoka both hearing that the Jedi Temple was bombed, and after an intensive investigation, finding out that a Jedi did it, and Ahsoka eventually getting blamed for it and going on the run. After they caught her, the Jedi Council expelled her from the Jedi Order so the Republic court could try her. Anakin found out from Asajj Ventress that it was Barriss Offee all along, who bombed the Temple, and he had to fight her to subdue her and take her into custody. He had barely arrived in time to prevent sentence from being passed onto Ahsoka.

But two things stuck in his mind. One of them was Barriss' speech. It still echoed in his mind, _"I've come to realize what many people in the Republic have come to realize, that the Jedi are the ones responsible for this War. That we've so lost our way that we have become villains in this conflict, that we are the ones that should be put on trial, all of us! And my attack on the Temple was an attack on what the Jedi have become: an army fighting for the dark side, fallen from the Light that we once held so dear. This Republic is failing! It's only a matter of time."_ As much as Anakin wished it were otherwise, there were echoes of truth in what she said.

But the harder blow came next when Ahsoka left. Anakin knew Ahsoka would have reservations about coming back. Kriff, _he_ would, but he didn't really expect Ahsoka to walk away. Some part of him had hoped that she would come back anyway, that all this could be forgiven and forgotten. But Anakin also knew that that would never happen realistically, and she would always feel out of place, such as he felt about being married to Padmé. He had said as such when he was trying to get her to come back. The last thing she said to him was "I know." Then she had walked out into the streets of Coruscant and Anakin suspected that she wasn't going to come back to the Temple again.

_Why?_ The question went over and over in Anakin's head, _Why Ahsoka? Why did you leave? Why did you bomb the Temple Barriss? Why did you frame Ahsoka? Why? Why? _

Anakin slowly stood up off his bed. He glanced around his room; crates and droid bits littered his room along with models of fighters on his desk. Sunlight glowed lazily into the room past the drapes, leaving the room bathed in a warm glow that didn't reach Anakin's heart. He took a deep breath and went to get into his robes.

A little while later, he emerged from his room fully clothed into the main living room. A pain went through Anakin's heart as he looked over at the door to Ahsoka's room. Almost as if he was being dragged, his feet made their way over to her room and his hand found itself hovering over the door panel. Slowly, Anakin pushed the button and the door slid open.

Anakin felt his eyes get wet as he looked around Ahsoka's room. It was smaller than his, but almost identical in shape and in mess, he dully noted. Her bed was situated in the middle of the room and there were piles of what other people would consider to be junk, but to Anakin's mind they were possible gold mines of invention, a though process he had passed onto Ahsoka. A bed stand sat to the right of the bed, but it held nothing on it. As Anakin got closer, he could see several scratches on the wood and he realized that that was where she put her lightsabers when she went to sleep.

Another pang of regret flittered across Anakin's mind. During her escape chase, she had lost her shoto, and when the clones captured her, she was without her main lightsaber. They both had been lost and haven't been found as of yet, but nobody was really looking for them.

Anakin couldn't bear it any longer; he left the room and leaned his head against the wall outside. _I feel like a failure. After so much work, it all vanishes in a day. A lifetime of training didn't help me prepare for this, and I'm sure it didn't help Ahsoka much either._ Anakin blinked, feeling some wetness start to build in his eyes. _And she was so close to being knighted. I could feel it, and so could the council._ Anakin narrowed his eyes at the thought of the council, _But it was only after they expelled her when they saw that. And they only offered it as an apology-no, more like a bribe, and a weak one at that. They are so blind and so concerned about public opinion that they ended up doing this. _

Anakin's frustration built up until he couldn't handle it any more and he punched the wall with his mechanical hand, leaving a moderate indent. He blinked in surprise at what he ended up doing. He held up his gloved hand and stared at it, partially to see if there was any damage, but also in weak shock. _I shouldn't have done that. I let my frustration get the better of me._ He clenched his hand and brought it back down. _I need to control myself better, if only to keep others safe around me_, he added darkly.

Just then, his comm started chirping. He held up the same hand that he just punched to wall with and started at the blinking unit. _Not now, anytime but now._ He was tempted, really tempted, to ignore it and whoever was on the other end could go… Anakin didn't finish that thought. He took a deep breath and pressed the receive button. "What?" He said, not having the energy nor the motivation to make a better response.

_"Anakin,"_ The voice of his mentor and former master Obi-Wan Kenobi came through. It was gentle and soft and almost pleading. _"The council wants to see you." _

Anakin repressed a growl that came to his throat, "I don't think that would be a good idea right now."

Obi-Wan took his time to say the next part; _"Anakin, they want to talk to you about Ahsoka."_ His voice almost expected a verbal rebuke.

Anakin didn't disappoint. "Oh, so now they want to talk? Convenient now that the whole situation is now thrown out the airlock."

_"Anakin please, we are all concerned, for both you and Ahsoka. We need to go over what happens next." _

This time Anakin didn't stop the growl that came out of him, and he made sure that it would be audible on the other end, because he had the suspicion that the council was eavesdropping on the conversation. "Fine," he snarled, "just remember that I said this isn't a good idea." He shut off the comm before he said anything else.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath trying to calm his nerves. It barely helped, but it was enough for him to exit his quarters.

* * *

The Temple was dead. Nobody was walking through the hallways, and those that did rarely stayed long out. The energy that once flowed now seemed like it was draining, and the feelings permeating the Temple that once were in harmony were now discordant and unsure. It had felt this way ever since the bombing and the news of Ahsoka leaving.

_The mood definitely suits the situation_, Anakin thought dryly.

He walked though those near empty hallways towards the High council chambers, and it seemed that he was repeating history. _I wonder what Ahsoka was feeling when she came up last time. Did she already know what she was going to do, or was she still deciding when the time came?_ He shook his head sadly; _I guess I will never know_.

Anakin had reached the antechamber for the council, and paused, trying to keep his emotions from bursting out. He took another deep breath and concentrated on releasing his emotions into the Force like Obi-Wan taught him. Or tried to teach him, Anakin never really learned from that, and it never really worked for him. He once heard some whispers from younger Jedi that the emotions just came right back to you stronger, and right now Anakin couldn't find fault in that reasoning.

He stepped into the room and immediately the whispers inside fell silent. There were only a few present, and even fewer attending via-hologram. Yoda, Mace Windu, Obi-Wan, Ki-Adi-Mundi, Plo Koon, and Kit Fisto were the only ones physically present, with Eeth Koth and Saesee Tiin were present in the holographic way, making about two thirds of the Council attending.

_They couldn't even all bother to show their faces_, Anakin thought, but pushed that aside. He walked to the center of the room and made a show of bowing before saying, "You called for me masters?"

There was silence as nobody seemed willing to talk. There was a clearing of a throat and Anakin turned to look at the cause. Obi-Wan. "Yes we did." The look on his face was cautious and, if Anakin could read him right, full of worry. _About what? It's a little late to have doubts now Obi-Wan. _

Another round of silence went around before Yoda spoke, "Hmm, how feel you?"

Anakin was transported back to when Yoda first asked him that question when he was nine. "I've been better." Anakin said bluntly.

Plo Koon spoke up next, "We know that you were especially attached to Ahsoka, Anakin. I- we- understand what you must be going through."

Anakin snorted, losing the mask of calm, or of stone he had set up. "Sorry, but I have a hard time believing that."

"Anakin," Obi-Wan said with a slight hint of warning in his voice, "the Council regrets its decision…"

Anakin didn't let him get started. All the frustration and other emotions that he had been trying to let go came right back and he put it into his voice. "Frankly Obi-Wan, if the Council regrets its decision so much, then why didn't they say that to Ahsoka? Don't go wasting your breath on me when it's her that you need to talk to."

Obi-Wan couldn't reach his eyes. Anakin looked around the room and noticed that most of the other council members were also unwilling to meet his eyes. The only two that did were Yoda, with sadness, and Mace Windu with his usual stony glare.

And it was Mace who spoke next. "Skywalker, control your emotions, otherwise they will control you."

Anakin met Mace's glare, and for a moment, Anakin felt like snapping at Mace right here and now. _Don't you _feel_ anything?_ But then Anakin blinked and broke eye contact. He took another deep breath and closed his eyes trying to keep what little peace he had left. "What is it the Council wished to see me about?" He ground out as he reopened his eyes.

"Concerned we are, about Ahsoka's sudden departure we are." Yoda said, "Worried we are, about her wellbeing now left the order, she has."

_It's too late for your concern _now_ master_, Anakin thought, but kept himself under control.

"Want you, we do, to find her and secure her wellbeing." Yoda finished.

Anakin blinked. He wasn't expecting _that_. "Master?" He said, making sure he heard correctly.

"To find Ahsoka Tano, and provide her with a start for her new life, your current mission is. Abandon those who have lost their way, we will not."

Anakin was surprised, but then he recovered and his resentment came back as well. "So now _after_ she has been proven innocent we help her?" He sneered and then said mockingly, "And what about Barriss; she lost her way. Are we helping her too?"

"Former Knight Offee's fate has yet to be decided and is none of your concern." Mace said leaning forward in his seat. Anakin picked up on the _"former"_ part and knew that her fate had already been decided, just like Ahsoka's, before the trial even began. "Now I suggest that you take some credits with you to give to Ahsoka when you find her. You should start looking for her." Mace finished, leaning back in his chair.

Anakin repressed another sneer that came to his face and said, "Yes _Master_." Putting as much spite as he could get away with in the title. Then he walked out of the Council rooms without leave before he got into some real trouble. He didn't stop walking until he came back to his quarters.

* * *

Anakin promptly sat on his bed and held his head in his hands, trying to recover from the Council meeting. Things had gone as well as he expected, which was badly, but there was one sliver of good that came out of it; he was going to find Ahsoka. But first he needed to calm down first; it would do him no good to go out looking for her like this. He sat there taking deep calming breaths for a long time. It was a rhythm that he had made a long time ago. Breath in, hold it for three seconds, then breath out for three seconds then repeat.

He was broken out of his pattern when a soft knock came at the door. Anakin slouched, sensing who it was outside. "What is it Obi-Wan?"

_"May I come in?"_ Came the muffled response. Anakin sighed and used the Force to open the door.

"Say what _you_ want to say Obi-Wan. I don't want to hear anything else the Council has to say."

A sad smile appeared on Obi-Wan's face. "I didn't think so, and to be honest, I don't either."

"What do you want?" Anakin repeated again, failing to keep the tiredness and annoyance out of his voice.

Obi-Wan came in further and pulled out the chair for Anakin's work desk and sat in it. "I want to know how you feel Anakin."

Anakin gave a hollow laugh, "I thought I made that clear at the Council meeting."

"No, you made it clear how you feel about the Council. I want to know how _you_ feel."

Anakin groaned and rubbed his temples. "It's not me that everybody should be concerned with, it's Ahsoka. She's the one that's gone."

"But you are the one that's here, and soon you will be out looking for her." Obi-Wan said. "Anakin, if you don't understand what you are feeling, then you could risk alienating Ahsoka further."

Anakin looked up at Obi-Wan silently, fuming internally. Something must have shown through because Obi-Wan's eyes hardened a bit when he said, "Please Anakin, you need to confront what you are feeling and let it go."

Anakin stood up and paced around the room, trying to do what Obi-Wan was suggesting, but really unable to do so. "You want to know what I'm feeling? I'm feeling like the Council betrayed me! They didn't even let Ahsoka get her chance to speak, so what about me? She was with the Order from way younger than I was; she served it and followed it with everything she had. It was her life and look where that got her! I'm a less than perfect Jedi, so what does that say about Ahsoka? If someone who has been with the Order for so long suddenly gets turned on my the Council, what's to say that even _you_ are safe?" He spat at Obi-Wan. Anakin's voice rose until he was almost shouting.

"I feel like the Council just disgraced what being a Jedi is. I feel that Barriss had some grain of truth to what she was doing. I feel like I want to leave now." Anakin paused and sat down on the bed, his temper all but gone now. "I feel empty, like a part of me was ripped out. I doubt that it will ever heal. And I don't _want_ to feel this way, but I can't stop it."

Anakin looked truly lost now, his eyes had a distant look to them and they looked lifeless. Obi-Wan stood up and came over to Anakin. "I understand what you feel Anakin, and I would probably feel the same as you do if I was in your shoes. But you need to understand these feelings and learn to release them. It will be the only way you can heal from this." Obi-Wan started going out the door but then stopped. "Where are you going to start looking for her?"

Anakin blinked, his eyes coming back into focus as he re-rooted himself back into the present. "I'll start by asking her friends. I'll probably start with Senator Bonteri and Senator Amidala. Ahsoka was friends with them and she probably went to them for help."

"Then I suggest that you start now." Obi-Wan turned to go out, but stopped again. "Tell me, what is it. I can take it." Anakin said as he could sense the worry Obi-Wan had radiating off him.

Obi-Wan didn't turn around. "The workshops have already started working on Ahsoka's bust to add to the Lost. They will want a quote or statement from somebody."

For a moment Anakin's rage returned. _She's only been gone a day and they already count her as one of the Lost?_ But that faded almost instantly as he grew more weary. "I'll do it. Just tell me when they need it."

"I will." Then Obi-Wan was gone.

* * *

Anakin remained in his room for a while longer before getting up. He went to his desk and pulled out all the credits that he had on hand and put them in his pouch. Then he went over to Ahsoka's room and briefly glanced at the dent in the wall before entering. Inside he rummaged around before finding a few credits and adding them to his pile.

His trip to the repaired hanger bay passed by quickly as he didn't notice where his feet took him until he was there. He checked out a speeder and set a point for where he knew Padmé would be. Since the Senate was out of session for the week to regroup after Ahsoka's trial, Padmé would be in the 500 Republica building.

As his speeder came up to Padmé's room, he could see her suddenly stand up from where she was sitting on the couch and look expectantly at the incoming vehicle. As Anakin stepped out, Padmé immediately knew what was wrong and came over to him, just as he went over to her. They met in a tight embrace, neither of them talking or moving, just feeding off each other's pain in the hope to take it away.

Finally Padmé was the one to break the silence. "Oh Ani, I'm so sorry."

Anakin was having flashback to when Obi-Wan was asking him his feelings, but this time Anakin didn't feel judged. "I feel so helpless. I wish there was something I could have done."

Padmé sighed and said, "We all do Ani, especially myself. I was her defendant after all." It was left unspoken, but they both knew what the verdict would have been, not if but when Palpatine read it.

"I still don't fell like we did anything at all. Even when I caught Barriss it still felt like it wasn't enough."

"I know. Nothing seems to help when we're in these moments. We just have to do the best that we can."

Anakin nodded still in Padmé's shoulder, then finally separated from her and looked her in the eyes. "That's actually why I'm here."

Padmé looked up quizzically. "Oh?"

"The Council sent me to find Ahsoka and make sure she's ok." Anakin said, repressing a growl when he mentioned the Council.

"Do you need my help?" Padmé said. Anakin paused before answering, "Yes, but first, did Ahsoka come and see you at all?"

Padmé frowned in sudden concern. "No she didn't. I learned that she left the Temple yesterday, but I don't think that she would just wander off without direction."

"That's why I'm here. I'm going to go around and ask her friends if they've seen her. Can you contact some of your friends in the Senate that you know Ahsoka got along with? Maybe Senator Bonteri of Senator Chuchi?"

Padmé nodded, "Yes of course. I'll contact you once I get anything." She looked outside at the setting sun. "It's getting late, where else are you going to look?"

Anakin frowned. "There aren't many places Ahsoka would go to, but I was thinking that maybe she went to Dexter's first, and then I can ask him if he's seen her." Anakin said, thinking about the many times the two have gone to the Besalisk's place along with Obi-Wan. "Knowing him, he probably would have given her a place to rest."

Padmé nodded and said, "I hope so." She leaned into Anakin and kissed him, "I hope you find her."

Anakin gave a smirk and said, "I hope _we_ find her."

Padmé stepped back and Anakin saw that she had her "politician face" that she had when she meant business. "I'll contact some of the other senators that I know supported Ahsoka. You have the harder challenge."

"Good, because I need something to keep me from thinking." Anakin said.

Padmé lost her politician face for a moment when she said, "Oh Ani, everything will turn out fine, just trust yourself."

Anakin gave a half-smile and went to his speeder. It was nearly sundown by now and Anakin needed to get to Dex's before night. Going through the airways, he parked the speeder in an empty spot outside the dinner.

Anakin walked in and noticed that it was emptier than usual, but he chalked it up to just the odd hour he appeared in. When the server droid came up to him, he held up his hand before it could ask him what he wanted and said, "I want to see Dex."

"Sure thing hon." The droid said, and then called out, "Someone to see you Dex, Jedi by the look of him."

The four-armed Besalisk appeared shortly after and after seeing who it was, quietly waved Anakin over to an empty table. Sitting down Dex gave Anakin a sorrowful look and said, "I'm sorry to hear about Ahsoka. I know that trial must have been tough on you. It was tough on all of us who knew her. Gave me a right shock to learn that her friend was the real culprit."

Anakin sighed and said, "I know. It's been a hard time on the entire Order too."

"And how is she handling all this?" Dex asked politely.

Anakin looked down at the table before looking Dex in the eyes. "She's actually the reason I'm here. Did she come by anytime since yesterday, or did she leave a message?"

Dex frowned and said, "No, haven't seen her since the last time she was here with you. Something wrong? Did she go missing?"

"In a way," Anakin started, then took a deep breath, "She left the Jedi Order yesterday."

Dex blinked in surprise and leaned back in the seat. "I'm, I'm, I don't know what to say." He said stuttering. "She left?"

Anakin nodded, "She felt that the Council betrayed her trust, and truthfully, I don't blame her."

Dex nodded understandingly. "I see tha' you already went through this today, so I won't discuss it with you." He leaned forward again, "Any idea where she's gone?"

Anakin shook his head, "No and that's what worries me. She doesn't know very many places around and she hasn't met with any of her friends here. It's like she just walked off and disappeared."

"Tha' doesn't sound like the Ahsoka I know. I'll ask around, see if anybody's seen her. I'll let you know first thing."

Anakin gave Dex a smile, "Thank you Dex. I'll drop by tomorrow sometime to see you again." "Sure thing buddy," Dex said, "anything for a friend in need."

Anakin stood up and walked out back into the Courscant bustle, even if it was now nighttime. Sighing, Anakin got back in his speeder and made his way back to the Jedi Temple, knowing that his search would have to be postponed until tomorrow.

Once he returned the speeder he wandered back to his quarters, but was stopped when his communicator went off. Hesitant to answer it, he took his time to press the button. "This is Skywalker." He said.

_"Anakin,"_ Obi-Wan said at the other end, _"are you back?" _

He frowned, "Yes I am. Did something come up?"

There was a pause when Obi-Wan said, _"The artisans are nearly finished with Ahsoka's bust and they want a quote." _

Anakin rubbed his face in weariness. "Alright, I'll be right down." He shut off the comm and went to the nearest turbolift and went down to the workshop area of the Temple.

He stepped out into the room, and winced in displeasure. _It's not at all like a workshop should be, this is _clean_,_ he thought. _Not enough clutter or mess for it to be comfortable. _

He walked further in and was greeted by a Jedi artisan who led him to where they were working on Ahsoka's bust. As they entered a room, Anakin felt a little better as this looked more like a workshop with little scraps of metal around and tools loosely placed around. But all that vanished when he saw the bust.

It was made out of Bronzium like all the others in the archives and it wasn't exactly finished yet as there were still many details that needed to be added, but Anakin could tell that it was Ahsoka. He stood there for a moment before realizing that the artisan was talking to him. He blinked and said, "Sorry?"

The man took the comment in stride. "If you would like to give a quote about her, seeing as you were her master, I would like to know it so I can transcribe it on the plaque." He grabbed a datapad and waited for Anakin to make a comment.

Anakin thought about it. There was so much he wanted to say, but he knew that it could not all fit on it, or more likely would be censored. He racked his mind for something, and then he remembered something he said to master Plo-Koon when Ahsoka had gone missing after a mission on Felucia. Anakin took a deep breath and said,

"She is fearless. No one has her kind of determination."

* * *

**I was going to include the next chapter along with this one to make this one even longer, but two things stopped me: #1. I found that it didn't need to be one chapter and works better as two. #2. I haven't completely written the next one. Tee-hee...**

**Anyway, I hope the dry writing spell that has been plaguing this story has ended and will be expecting more frequent updates in the future. **


	12. Chapter 12: The Empty Search

**Is it just me, or are other people having trouble with the copy-and-paste option for documents? It used to work fine, but now it all just clumps together. I don't know...**

**Oh-Hey! New chapter! Last time Anakin just visited the artisans who were making Ahsoka's bust for the Archives. Now we see the second day of Anakin's search.**

**FYI, if there are any ****grammatical errors, I'm blaming it on the previously stated problem above.**

**Just a quick note because somebody asked a while ago and I'm just _now_ getting to it: I was not planning on including enemies like the Daleks and the Cybermen because they don't exist in this universe, but hey, you never know what the future holds!**

**By the way, have a good spring break! Thank you for all the positive Reviews!**

***Note1: This chapter has been edited. Thanks to cabralfan27 for pointing that out for me!  
*Note2: I edited what was written on Ahsoka's bust in Chapter 10 so it includes more things she has done during the Clone Wars. **

* * *

After Anakin said his quote the artisan assured him that he would finish Ahsoka's bust sometime tomorrow. Anakin nodded numbly, knowing that the man was trying to reassure him in some way, but not doing it right and coming off as irritating. Excusing himself, Anakin made his way out of the workshop and back to the main floors of the Jedi Temple. He wandered aimlessly for a while, trying to calm himself down, but found himself in the training rooms trying to get himself tired enough to go to sleep.

He was fighting an imaginary figure and he was moving his lightsaber in a blur around him. Going through every maneuver and form he could remember Anakin repeated them again. He was sweating towards the end, but he didn't feel tired, more like bored. _I think that's an improvement,_ Anakin thought, _at least I don't feel anything else. _

Shutting off his lightsaber, he decided he had enough of today and went back into his quarters. Opening the door, he glanced at the fist sized dent left in the wall before going into his room. He sighed softly as he set his lightsaber and belt on his desk. Opening up a pouch in his belt, he took out the credits he had stored there. On an off note, he noticed one of the gold ones had a corner chipped off of it. _Wonder how that happened,_ he thought to himself.

He changed out of his robes and put on his sleepwear then laid down on the bed. He felt strange for a moment, then he realized that he was used to sleeping in his clothes. Being on the front lines so often had the side effect of not having a ready wardrobe available, and you had to make do with what you brought.

_Ahsoka was usually right there with me,_ he remembered, _and sometimes Obi-Wan would join us._ He smiled at the memory of some of the mid-campaign antics and jokes they'd gotten into. Ahsoka seemed to like to play pranks on Obi-Wan using Rex, having him go interrupt Obi-Wan when he was doing something. _Usually Rex caught on pretty quick as to what was happening, but it brought a rare laugh to the camp when Obi-Wan would go bumbling around. Of course, he would always get at Ahsoka his own way, just not so outright. _

Anakin also remembered that he was also a victim to Ahsoka as well, who would also enlist Obi-Wan who was all too willing to help. Every time he was on a ship, they poked fun at him and would ask him when he was going to crash his ship so they could move out of the way. Or that one time very early on when Ahsoka, who had just recently became his padawan at the time, somehow managed to find an electromagnet and she stuck it to his right arm and the bed frame. Needles to say, the bed didn't survive and Ahsoka spent the rest of the day cleaning R2-D2 and his starfighter.

Anakin snorted; when she appeared again, head to her bare feet covered in grease. He had told her she would get used to it, and in a sense she had. _Would have made a passible grease monkey in a few years if… _

He sobered once again, reminding himself what happened. _Ahsoka, where are you? Where have you gone?_ With that thought Anakin fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning, the sun rose though the sky and cleared the buildings to shine down on Coruscant. Many were still awake from the night previously, while others were now only just getting to sleep. Some woke up when the sunlight shined through their room, such as Anakin did.

Anakin's eyes opened and he immediately squinted. The sun was shining directly into his window, and although he had the curtains down, it was bright enough to wake him up. He rolled out of his bed and once again reminded himself what had happened, and to sturdy himself for the day. Putting on his clothes, he grabbed his lightsaber and his belt, putting the credits back inside his left pouch. The time was 09:47. He got out of his room and shamefully avoided looking at the dented wall before going out.

The Jedi Temple was once again empty, but Anakin didn't notice. He made his way to the hanger bay once again and borrowed the same speeder. Two minutes later he was in the air going to Padmé's place. As he neared the open balcony of her apartment, C-3PO came to greet him. "Master Anakin, how good to see you again! Senator Amidala has been up for quite some time doing what you wanted."

"That's good to hear 3PO." Anakin said, "Has she made any progress?"

If he could, 3PO looked sad. "Unfortunately she has not." But then he paused and said, "However, I have not been privy to all the details so she might have something."

Anakin gave a small smile at 3PO's attempt to provide motivation and gave the golden droid a pat on its metallic shoulder. Anakin walked in further and found Padmé sitting at a communications computer. She was just finishing a conversation with somebody on the other end, "Thank you for your time Senator." She said, and then the line was cut. She sighed and leaned back in the chair.

"Any luck?" Anakin asked. When Padmé gave a little jump at suddenly finding him so close, Anakin almost smiled. She gave a cheeky apologetic smile and said, "Sorry, you surprised me." Then the smile turned sad, "No I haven't had any luck. I've contacted Bail, Lux, and Chuchi, and I just finished with Senator Meena Tills; none of them have had any contact with Ahsoka since she left."

Anakin remained stoic when Padmé delivered her news. His eyes had gone distant and expressionless. _Where did you go Ahsoka?_ "Have you checked with any of the other senators that were on Ahsoka's side?" He said in a monotone voice.

Padmé was concerned about how Anakin was taking this and she said, "No I haven't yet." She stood up when she saw that Anakin still hadn't changed expressions. "Anakin, she'll be okay. She can take care of herself until we find her. You taught her well."

He blinked twice and that seemed to snap him out of his stupor. He tried to give a smile but it came out as more of a grimace. "I did, didn't I?" He said.

Padmé gave a small smile and placed her hand on his chest. "I'll continue to do my best; you must do the same. Lets not stop until she is found. Promise?"

Anakin's smile became genuine as he said, "Promise." Be leaned in and gave Padmé a kiss that lasted too short for both of them. He sighed once they broke apart, "I should go. I need to check in with Dex before I continue my search."

"Go ahead, we both have a mission to complete. I'll still be here for you."

Anakin smiled back at her then turned and climbed back into his speeder. Once again, like he did the other day, he set a course for Dex's Dinner.

* * *

He got there just as the lunch hour was about to begin at 11:14. He parked his speeder and stepped out, for a moment enjoying the greasy smell wafting out of the restaurant. Then he reminded himself why he was here and walked inside.

Immediately he saw Dex behind the counter. But before he could call out, Dex saw him and rushed over to him. Anakin was curious, and just a tad hopeful. Dex is hurrying much to fast just to say that Ahsoka wasn't here.

Anakin's suspicions were confirmed when Dex immediately said, "She was here!"

Anakin's heart lifted up about thirty meters at that sentence. "Really?"

Dex nodded, his fat jiggling viciously. "Yea came in about an hour ago and got something to eat. She seemed to know you were looking for her, so she left an address as to where she was staying." Dex reached inside his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper that had a sector number, building location, and room number.

Anakin frowned as he realized that the area wasn't the best around. "You're sure this is where she was staying?" He said.

"Yes, she wrote it down to give to you for when you showed up. Sounded like she was expecting you to show up. Didn't seem at all surprised. Thought it strange at the time, like she was treating all of this like a normal occurrence." Dex was lost in thought for a moment, and then said, "She even paid for her meal too, look."

He pulled out a couple of credits and showed them to Anakin. Anakin would have not given it a moment's thought, but one credit caught his eye. It was a gold one, but it had a corner chipped off of it. He suddenly frowned and pulled out his own credits. "Can I see that?" He asked, and was handed the credit. He compared the two together. _They're the same! Same chip, same ID. What? How is that possible? _

Dex looked at that too and was confused as well when he pocketed the one he originally had. "I don't know how to explain that. She did seem a bit off, but I just attributed that with the trouble she was having."

He suddenly looked around and lowered his voice to conspiratorial level, "There was one other thing, she had a human male with her." That got a raised eyebrow from Anakin. "He was really strange. Friendly guy, but something seemed off about him and I can't put my figure on it. Wore some sort of blue suit I never seen before."

Anakin frowned and looked at the paper he was holding again. "I better go after her before she gets into trouble." He looked up at Dex when he snorted.

Dex grinned. "Just like you always get into?" he asked, being privy to some of the more interesting missions Anakin got into.

Anakin had to give Dex some credit for that, but quickly got back into business, "Thank you Dex."

"Anytime Anakin." Dex said, then went back into his kitchen.

Anakin went outside and powered up his speeder and headed to where the address led him. As he got there, he parked outside a clearly run down building that advertised "Rooms for a Night". He frowned at this sight. _Why did you come here Ahsoka? What happened? _

Anakin walked inside and found the lobby, if it could be called that, empty. He went over to the management desk and rung the bell that was there. A moment later, a Rodian came out and said, "Good afternoon, young man. Are you interested in a room? Eleven credits a day for a room."

Anakin waved him off, "I'm not interested in a room, I'm looking for someone, a young Torgrutan woman. Goes by the name Ahsoka Tano."

"I don't really remember anyone like that. So many people come through here, all asking to stay the night, I can hardly keep track." The Rodian said. He was clearly trying to get more out of Anakin, still not clued in that he was a Jedi. "Maybe if you give me a reason to remember, I might help you."

Anakin's calm evaporated, "How's this for a reason?" He grabbed his lightsaber and smashed the top of the desk with the pummel.

The Rodian backed off immediately, "Ah, you're a Jedi! Of course, I remember now. The Torgrutan girl; came in late about two nights ago. She paid for the first night yesterday, but hasn't for last night. I was just about to go up and collect the rent." He said, then shrunk under the glare Anakin gave him.

"Take me to her."

"Sure, sure." The Rodian said, nodding franticly. He came out from behind the desk and they both made their way to a run down turbolift. Surprisingly it moved rather well considering its looks. They got in and started moving up the levels.

They got to the level that the Rodian punched in, and Anakin made him lead the way to the room. They reached a door and before the Rodian could do anything, Anakin knocked on the door. "Ahsoka? It's me, are you in there?" He said through the door. When he got no answer, he opened the door.

There was dust everywhere so it was easy to see the footprints on the floor. The room was like the rest of the building: run down. But that wasn't what caught Anakin's attention; it was the second set of footprints in the dust. He see Ahsoka's boot prints, but there was another pair that started from the bed and they both went out of the room. Anakin knelt down to look at them, and could tell that they were concentrated and reached out with the Force, and he could feel her really close by.

"Where did she go?" He asked, turning on the Rodian.

The Rodian backed away, "How should I know? She didn't come back down so she should still be up here."

Anakin narrowed his eyes and remembered something Dex said, _"There was one other thing, she had a human male with her. He was really strange. Friendly guy, but something seemed off about him and I can't put my figure on it." _

"Is there any place else in here?"

"Only the roof," the Rodian answered.

Anakin remained a moment longer before coming to a decision. He pulled out a couple of credits and tossed them to the Rodian saying, "Keep the change." Then he headed towards the turbolift and went to the roof.

The door opened and Anakin heard the last of a weird sound, like a brake was malfunctioning on a speeder somewhere. It disappeared after a second or two, so Anakin went out onto the roof. He concentrated again through the Force, but this time he didn't feel Ahsoka at all. He could feel the remnants of her presence, but her actual Force signature was gone. As he looked around, he saw something that looked like a skid mark on the durasteel from something. He bent down to examine it, but could find no other clues as to what caused it. There was nothing else on the roof, nothing to give any information as to where Ahsoka was.

"Where are you?" He growled. He turned around as the turbolift doors opened again and the Rodian came out. In three long steps, Anakin was in front of the Rodian and had grabbed him by his coat. "Where is she?" He asked, impolitely.

"I don't know! Honest! This is the only place she would be!" The Rodian said frightenedly.

Anakin frowned and concentrated. Normally, the Jedi considered using the Force to go into the memories of another being as taboo, but Anakin had passed the point where he gave a damn. He scoured the Rodian's memory for Ahsoka and found out that the man was telling the truth; he had only seen her twice, when she first came in and when she paid for that first night.

Growling to himself he left the Rodian's mind. The Rodian, who was still recovering mentally from Anakin's intrusion, just stood by as Anakin walked past him into the turbolift and out of the building.

A short while later, a speeder took off of the ground outside and sped away to the Jedi Temple.

* * *

Anakin was doing the one thing that he never thought he would do willingly: he was meditating. He was in the Room of a Thousand Fountains. Plants and water moved around him in a calming and soothing manner much the contrary to his emotional state. As he breathed in, the water and the plants swayed towards him, and as he breathed out, they were pushed back. He was one with the Force, but he still felt torn.

_I was so close to finding her, but I've followed a dead end. Now I need to start back at the beginning._ He took another breath and let it out. The plants and water swayed again. _Dex told me the truth, he had no other motive to and he's not the person to do that. That Rodian was also telling the truth, even if it needed to be forced out. Padmé still has nothing from the Senators. So where does that leave me? No leads,_ _no clues, nothing. Nothing!_ He frowned and a jet of water was shot up and splashed the ground next to him.

He opened his eyes, coming out of his trance, surprised at the ground being wet, then he realized that he lost control again. _Why does this keep happening to me? I'm supposed to be better than this!_ He rubbed his face in frustration. He didn't notice a familiar presence come up behind him until it sat down across from him.

"Trouble meditating?" Obi-Wan said. Anakin opened his eyes and saw that Obi-Wan had assumed the same cross-legged position he was in.

Anakin sighed and said, "I don't need another lecture about control Obi-Wan."

Obi-Wan didn't react to the harsh words. "I wasn't planning to, but I could always think of something." He said as a prompt for a rebuke, trying to get Anakin to talk.

Anakin looked up and understood the purpose of it, but couldn't find it in him to smile at the attempt or make a joking response. Obi-Wan noticed the lack of humor and moved in. "You haven't found anything." He said as a statement, not a question.

Anakin lowered his eyes, "I was close. So close, I could almost feel her. But I lost the trail. She's gone once again, and it hurts all the more. I feel like I've lost her all over again." He said.

Obi-Wan waited a moment before saying, "You haven't lost her Anakin." His head shot up at that, but Obi-Wan continued, "As long as you continue to look, you will not lose her. It's only when you stop that you will truly have lost her."

Anakin looked surprised for a moment before saying, "And where did this sage advice come from?"

Obi-Wan smiled, "From just right now." He saw Anakin's mouth make an involuntary twitch.

"It's a shame you don't come up with more. You could fill a book with them."

Obi-Wan gave a chuckle, "The Archives is full of those books already." Then something came across his mind and he lost his smile. Anakin lost whatever joviality he had at Obi-Wan's change. Obi-Wan sighed, "Ahsoka's bust has been finished and moved to the Archives."

Anakin frowned, "It didn't take them long didn't it?"

Obi-Wan chose not to respond to that comment and instead said, "It's at the beginning of the third hall if you want to go see it." He paused and said, "You might gain some insight if you do Anakin."

Not sensing a response in the making, Obi-Wan got up and started to leave, but was stopped by Anakin's voice. "I'm sure Ahsoka would like to see what she looks like in that place."

Obi-Wan had to smile at that, knowing Ahsoka as well as Anakin. "She'll probably dislike staring at all the books around her and will get bored before her statue needed polishing."

Finally Anakin let out a chuckle. It was short and almost nonexistent, but it was there. "Perhaps I will go later. Right now I need to sort some things out."

"Take all the time you need Anakin." Was all Obi-Wan said before leaving Anakin in the middle of the room.

* * *

Anakin stayed there for a long time, his head bowed and staring at the ground. The sun traveled over the horizon and fell beneath the skyline, shadowing the city-world. It was only when his legs finally protested being crossed for so long that Anakin finally moved.

Hissing slightly to himself, he uncrossed his legs and rubbed them, trying to get the blood flowing through them again. A few minutes later he finally stood up off the ground. It was nighttime when he did this, the sun already fallen several hours ago. Looking about him, he saw that nobody else was around, which wasn't much of a change from the rest of the day. But for once, it affected him. The moon was in full glow this night and made the plants and the water glow with a sorrowful light.

The pit that had been forming in Anakin's heart grew as he looked upon this scene. Now he felt truly alone. Obi-Wan, for all his good intentions, could never understand truly what Anakin was going through. Padmé could, but they could only see each other when they met on official business or when they snuck around behind closed doors. Too many secrets there to feel comfortable. And Ahsoka…

_It was strange,_ he now thought, _when I was on the rooftop back then, Ahsoka had vanished from the Force. She was just gone. No leads, no trail to follow, just a dead end. It was as if something had ripped her out of the Force without me even feeling it. I don't even know how that could happen. All Force users, with the right training, could hide their presence. But I was Ahsoka's master, and that created a bond stronger than what a simple trick like that could break._ He was confused to say the least.

And now, as he was standing and concentrating on the Force again, he could feel her again. He wasn't sure where, but he could feel her. He was even more confused now.

_Perhaps Obi-Wan is right,_ Anakin thought, _I do need to visit Ahsoka's bust. Just to clear some things out._ He walked out of the room and meandered through the hallways to the Archives.

* * *

**CLIFFHANGER! I know I'm evil, but it would have been too much for this chapter! I promise next chapter we'll get back to the Doctor and Ahsoka, just bear with me please! Hopefully I added enough mysteries to keep you interested... I'll try to post before the end of the break/week! **

**Now on a more positive note: I'm working on rough drafts for two more stories, one is a Star Wars/Hunger Games crossover that is completely OC's so don't expect Katniss to show up, and a Teen Titans story (of all things) that will focus heavily on some OC's I have from another novel I'm _slowly_ working on for eventual publication. So expect more work in the future from me!**

**Ok, that about does it now, I'm dead tired after a long day and want to sleep now. **

**As always, R.R.F.F (Read, Review, Favorite, Follow)**

**-OrangeGalen**


	13. Chapter 13: Skytalking (ItT) (Pt 3)

**Hey, I made it. Just a day late that's all. Right guys? Right? Heh-hehnervous laugh. I said end of the week, and it's monday... Oh well, can't be helped. **

**Okay, lets get on with this: Knight Writer 95, thanks for the suggestion, works like a charm now. To every one else, thank you for your reviews! **

**Alright, you waited long enough. Here's the chapter that's been building for a while. **

**Note: this chapter has (ItT) in the title. This means _Into the Temple_. It's a sub chapter heading linking a few together. This is part 3. **

* * *

Anakin, still thinking about the day's events, took his time to go to the Archives. He wanted to go, but he felt a great weight settle over him when he started moving. His body was lethargic and unresponsive, as if it was resisting going to the destination. Anakin didn't know why, but he felt that something was keeping him from moving. As much as he tried, there was a part of him that didn't want to face what could have been.

Wandering down the hallways, led by the moonlight Anakin tried to make sense of everything. The Force had never provided him answers to questions like this. The cloud that had clouded the eyes of the Council had always been there for him. It wasn't a sense of not seeing the future; far from it in certain cases, such as when he had visions of his mother dying. But those were given to him; he didn't search for them like he was now.

_Why do I feel so conflicted? _He wondered. _I know Ahsoka's still out there, and she's alive, so why do I feel so horrible? I've been searching for her, and I think I've accepted the fact that I have done all I could. So what is still troubling me? Why do I feel so reluctant to look at Ahsoka's bust?_

Still pondering that question, Anakin came to the outside of the Archives, but before he entered, he rested his head against the wall. _Come on Anakin, It's not the end of the galaxy. Ahsoka's not really gone…_ He stopped. _That is it. Ahsoka's not gone, but I wanted her to come back to the Jedi Order. This whole time I've been searching for her I've had the thought of her actually coming back to the Order. I want her back here so badly, but once I see the bust, then it will sink in that she's gone and won't be coming back. _

Deep down, he knew that was it. He didn't want to accept the fact that she was gone. He had been fighting the feeling ever since she did leave. And if he saw her statue, then that hope would be gone.

But there was a darker, deeper feeling. Fear. Fear that he had truly failed at being a Jedi. Fear that he gave up on his friends. Fear of what the future held. If he failed at protecting his padawan, then who else would he fail? Would he fail his wife, Padmé? Would he fail Obi-Wan? The Council? The list goes on, but all centered around the fear of failure.

Anakin shook his head, trying to get the negative thoughts out of it_. Come one. Just go in. You shouldn't be afraid_. With those internal words, Anakin passed through the doors into the Archives.

Every time he has been in the Archives, it has been for a purpose. Anakin never went in there for recreation or for enlightenment about the Jedi way. It was always something he needed, or something he was told to look at. Starship manuals, droid schematics, and other technical books were usually what he looked at, trying to find new ships or droids to build and improve upon. Very rarely he would search for other material, and usually that was for a mission he was going on. Philosophy, history, and Jedi beliefs were sections that were barely touched, only visited when he was still a padawan and Obi-Wan made him read the materials. Anakin never perused them after that, only when necessary.

Anakin entered through the First hall, which was the History and Philosophy section. He noticed as he went in that there was a bunch of books and datapads piled up on one of the tables. _I suppose that this is where all the Jedi in the Temple have been today._ Then he wondered, _why are they left out? Shouldn't they have been put back? _Even if he didn't go the Archives all that much, he still knew common courtesy of putting things back where you found them… although that rule doesn't apply to his quarters.

He took a quick scan of them and found that they were mostly general history books of the galaxy, and some of them were Jedi history books as well. They were stacked on top of each other like somebody had pulled them out and tried to at least make them look neat. Anakin didn't think much of it, he was just mildly puzzled.

As he went further into the Archives, when he came to the rotunda, he saw something that gave him a small smile. Petro, a Jedi initiate, was asleep on the chair inside the circular main desk. His feet were up and planted firmly on the desk, and his hands were supporting his head. The boy himself was snoring gently, his mouth slightly open.

Anakin smirked to himself at the sight, but then sobered as he remembered something. Petro was one of a group of Jedi Initiates that Ahsoka took with her to Illum for them to make their own lightsabers. After they were finished, they were attacked by pirates, led by a familiar face to Anakin and Ahsoka both: Hondo Ohnaka. He wanted the lightsaber crystals the Initiates had just made, but Ahsoka fended off the pirates, but got captured in the process.

The other Initiates that Ahsoka saved decided to pull off a rescue mission of their own and freed Ahsoka from the pirates. But General Grievous came and captured the pirate base and almost killed them all when they tried to get off world. Ahsoka once again, saved them by holding off Grievous long enough for them to get a ship and escape, where Obi-Wan Kenobi quickly picked them up.

_That was one of the last missions that Ahsoka went on by herself,_ Anakin thought. He looked back at Petro. _Petro must have been worried when Ahsoka went on the run. He had developed a friendship with her forged out of conflict, so he, along with the rest of the group must have been deeply concerned about the recent events._ Anakin knew firsthand that they got indirectly involved. When he discovered that Barriss was the one behind the Temple bombing, their following duel fell, or at least Anakin did, right in the middle of a lightsaber practice exercise which Petro was a part of. To say that the group was shocked must have been an understatement if Anakin ever heard one.

Anakin sighed to himself and decided to let the boy sleep. _I don't blame him for falling asleep; Archive duty isn't exactly the most exciting thing to keep you awake, especially at this hour. _Anakin reasoned that the pile of books on the table must have been one of the last things Petro did before falling asleep. _That explains why they weren't put back._

But there was something nagging at him, something feeling out of place. Anakin looked around but didn't see anything amiss, so he moved around the sleeping Initiate to his original destination. However, if he had looked just a little harder just a few steps further ahead, then he might have seen a tall, strange, blue object hidden in the shadows in the Nature and Diversity hall.

Anakin walked a little further to the Geography and Politics hall, since that is where Obi-Wan told him Ahsoka's statue bust was. He walked with slow steps and his head down, not wanting to look at what was to come until he was ready. He made little noise and he moved across the room, his moonlit cast shadow hugging the ground. Once again, the darkness over his heart seemed to close in and threaten to overwhelm him. Anakin scrunched his face, and continued on to Ahsoka's statue…

Only to find someone else there.

Anakin stopped short. There was a man in front of him staring at Ahsoka's statue intensely, not noticing that he had company. He had slightly spikey brown hair, and was wearing a strange blue suit, a type that Anakin had never seen before. While that was fine, Anakin had seen many strange things people wore, it was the way the man was staring at Ahsoka's statue that made Anakin go on guard.

_Who is he?_ Anakin wondered, _I've never seen anyone dressed like that, and I'm pretty sure he's not a Jedi. But what is he doing here?_ Anakin was puzzled, then he thought, _what is he doing_ here _now? Who invited him in? Who let him in? Is he an intruder or a guest?_

But then something clicked inside Anakin's mind. _Why is he staring at Ahsoka's statue like he knows her? _An echo came up from when he was talking to Dex, _"There was one other thing, she had a human male with her. He was really strange. Friendly guy, but something seemed off about him and I can't put my figure on it. Wore some sort of blue suit I never seen before."_

_Is this the guy that Dex was talking about? This man matches his description. So what does he want, and what is he doing here? And how does he know Ahsoka? _

Anakin walked around the table behind the man and decided that he better get his attention rather than just start talking, as there was no knowing how dangerous this person was. He held up his right hand over the table and knocked three times on it.

At the first knock, Anakin could see the man visibly tense up, probably from surprise at the sudden sound in the silence. At the second knock, the man jerked his head up violently and Anakin could suddenly feel waves of fear and worry radiate off him. _Why is he so afraid? I could see some fear of getting caught, but this goes beyond a simple caught-in-the-act reaction._ Anakin knocked a third time, and this time the man turned to face him. He had a youthful face that looked like he was in his mid twenties and had brown eyes. But Anakin could see a lot behind those eyes, not unlike the eyes of some people who've seen too much of the frontlines.

Anakin narrowed his eyes and said, "What are you doing here?"

The fear in the man's eyes diminished, and the overwhelming emotion calmed somewhat. But that was replaced with worry instead, although at a lesser level than it was previously. The man's eyes looked over Anakin much the same way Anakin's were. The man opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. He repeated this for a few more times then finally said, "I'm the Doctor."

Anakin frowned and was about to say something when the man frowned and said, "No, wait, that's not what you asked." He was obviously confused at what just came out of his mouth. "Usually people first ask "who are you" when they first meet me and then I'd say, "I'm the Doctor", but you asked, "What are you doing here?" So, uhh, let me start over." The man took a breath and said, "So: what am I doing here? Well, why do people come to a library? I wanted to look up some stuff before heading out again."

Anakin didn't know how to react to the man's character. _I think I know why Dex though he was strange; he talks too much. _Anakin straightened up and said, "Who let you in? You're obviously not a Jedi so who gave you permission to enter the Temple?"

The man shrugged and said, "I would have asked to come in, but it seemed that the help desk was busy checking his eyelids for holes." Anakin spared a glace over to the sleeping Petro before returning his attention back to the man. "So I decided to come in and just take a quick look around before heading out." The man seemed to suddenly remember something, and reached inside is coat. "I actually have permission to be in here, given to me by the Republic Senate." He said with a smile as he pulled out a small paper pad and showed it to Anakin.

Anakin read the paper, which said: _The Doctor has the permission of the Galactic Republic Senate, in concordance with the Jedi Council, to access the Jedi Temple Archives at his own use for research._ At the end was the seal of the Senate, making it legitimate.

Or making it seem that way. Anakin was momentarily fooled by the paper and saw it for what it was showing. But years of Jedi training kicked in and he realized that the paper had some sort of imprinted mind trick on it, making him see what the man wanted him to see. As he concentrated, the words started to fade away and made him see that the paper was really just that: a blank piece of paper.

Anakin's frustration started to increase. "Are you trying to trick me?" He growled as he started to walk around the table to the man's side.

The man's smile slid off his face. "Ah. Should have figured it wouldn't work." He muttered to himself before saying, "Actually, no, I wasn't. I was testing a theory I had, and it worked out great." Anakin continued his slow pace to the man, and he saw him start to get nervous.

"You don't have any permission to be here." Anakin stated.

The man's mouth worked for a moment before he said, "Well, I did have permission in a way…"

"And who gave it to you?" Anakin demanded.

Anakin noticed the way the man's eyes flickered momentarily to Ahsoka's statue before he answered. "Now that is a very interesting story, and I'm sure that you want to hear it, but…" He reached out for this strange machine on the table, and Anakin reacted.

In one fluid movement, Anakin reached down, brought up his lightsaber and ignited it, pointing it at the man. The man stopped dead in his tracks. "As a matter of fact, yes I do." Anakin said. He gestured with the lightsaber to the machine, "What is that?"

"Oh this?" The man said, his cheeky voice back, completely ignoring the bar of blue tinted concentrated plasma pointed at him, "Oh it's nothing, just a little something I made to help me with reading all this stuff." He said looking at the tall shelves. Anakin took the opportunity to try and see inside the man's mind, like he did earlier with the Rodian. As he tried, he was suddenly thrust back by a strong mental barrier. _He's strong, I'll give him that, but he doesn't seem Force sensitive. But how did he repulse by attempt so easily? _

Anakin made direct eye contact with the man. He was also looking directly at Anakin, probably sensing his mental probing and seeing what he was going to do next. They eyed each other for a moment to make sure the other wasn't going to do anything before the man said, "Well, this has been nice but I need to get going, so…" He reached over the table and tried to pick up the machine again, and at the same time reached inside his pocket for something else.

Anakin stepped closer until the blade was a few inches away from the man. "Don't try anything." The man slowly straightened up and withdrew his hand from his pocket, holding a small metal device. "What is that?" Anakin asked.

"This?" The man said, "This is a sonic screwdriver. I was just going to fix something I saw wrong with my copier."

Immediately Anakin knew what was going on. "Copier? You were the one who pulled out all those books in the first hall? You were copying them?"

The man grimaced and scratched the back of his head, "Yea, sorry about the mess, but I was in a rush and couldn't find where I got them from. I mean I would have put them back, but still…" He stopped suddenly when Anakin shoved the lightsaber blade closer to his face "Ah, could you get that out of my face please?"

Anakin growled, "Not until you tell me exactly what you are doing here, and who you are." Anakin interrupted the man before he started, "And don't avoid the questions, understand?"

"Uh, yes."

"Good, now, who are you?"

The man got a mischievous glint in his eyes and said, "I'm the Doctor."

Anakin narrowed his eyes. "The Doctor. Just the Doctor? Doctor Who?"

The Doctor couldn't help but smile at that. "Just like Ahs…" He stopped as he caught himself from saying a name. He coughed and said, "Yes, my name's the Doctor. And you are?" He asked as he held out his hand, still keeping his head away from the lightsaber.

Anakin didn't respond to the prompt and ignored the hand. "So Doctor, what are you doing here?"

"Well, truthfully, I kinda needed some information to get around and I heard that this is the best place to find that. And since I can't take the stuff with me, that's where this comes in." He finished, gesturing to the copy machine he had.

"So you are stealing then." Anakin said.

"No I'm not." Came the reply. "Tell me, do you see me taking anything?" The Doctor asked with some venom in his voice now. "All I'm doing is copying raw data, nothing is being taken except the knowledge of each book and datapad, no more than if you yourself made a copy. So tell me, why are you interrupting me like this?" He said gesturing to the lightsaber held at him. "What have I done to warrant such a reaction?"

Anakin was slightly surprised. _This is the closest this man (the Doctor?) has come to making a complete and honest answer, and is more intense than I would have thought. I need to be more careful._

Anakin adjusted the blade so that it was no longer directly pointing at the Doctor, making a higher angle pointing to the above ceiling. "You came here uninvited, and I'm surprised that no one stopped you before you got here."

"Well technically, I was asked to come here. And nobody here saw me come in, so nobody could of stopped me."

"You snuck in? So you're a spy then?" Anakin changed the angle of his blade again, once more pointing it directly at the Doctor.

"What, no! No no no no no no!" The Doctor said in protest, "I'm not spying on anybody. I'm helping a…" The Doctor paused, "a friend."

"And who is this friend? A Separatist infiltrator?" Anakin demanded an answer.

"No she's not. But, uh, she's, umm," the Doctor stammered, "you know, I don't know what she is right now. She's confused due to some recent events that I have yet to get to the bottom of."

Anakin stopped to think about what the Doctor said. _Everything is adding up. The strange man, his avoidance to naming the person, Ahsoka's disappearance. I'm positive he knows about Ahsoka, but just a few things are missing, like who he is, where he fits into this, and where Ahsoka is._

"Then who is she? Name!" He nearly shouted, shoving the lightsaber closer to get his point across.

A sudden look of worry and concern crossed the Doctor's face. He seemed to be debating whether to keep the secrecy of his counterpart, or run the risk of enraging the Jedi with the lightsaber pointed at him further. He looked over at the bust, then after a moment the Doctor finally said, "Are you familiar with a former Jedi who goes by Ahsoka?"

Anakin blinked, and his arm wavered slightly. "How do you know Ahsoka?" He asked quietly.

* * *

_Uh-oh, _thought the Doctor, _now comes the part where he is about to lose all self-control he had. I need to end this quick before I lose my hand… or my head this time, and I won't regenerate it back this time. And this person looks like he won't tolerate any more distractions._

"Uhh, we met quite accidentally. She found me in a bad state and took care of me until I recovered." The Doctor said.

"What happened to her?" The Jedi said, still staying worryingly quiet.

"She was in this apartment place when I met her, then we talked and she asked me to help her with something." He left out the parts with Ventress in them, not knowing how this guy would react to that knowledge.

"What did she want?" The Jedi asked, starting to lose his collected calm.

The Doctor grimaced and clenched his teeth together when he said, "It wasn't exactly what _she_ wanted to be sure."

Anger flared in the Jedi's eyes and the Doctor suddenly felt his throat get tighter, making it hard to breath. Training prevented him from starting to gasp for air, but the Doctor was definitely alarmed. He saw the Jedi's left hand clenching and figured it was his doing. "Where is she?" He growled out.

The Doctor was about to answer when what could be called good timing happened. Alarms started blaring throughout the entire temple, warning everybody inside that there was an intruder. All throughout the Temple people were startled awake by the loud blaring siren, including a certain Initiate who was taking a nap in the Archives.

Meanwhile, the Doctor and the Jedi suddenly looked around, also startled by the alarm. The unseen grip on the Doctor's throat stopped and the Doctor sucked in some air. The Doctor had to give a small _"I knew this would happen"_ smile to the Jedi saying, "That's probably her right now."

The Jedi turned back to the Doctor and something changed in his eyes. They hardened and turned cold. He drew the lightsaber back, and years of experience came to the Doctor, knowing that the young Jedi was going to attack him. Acting on reflex, the Doctor pointed his sonic screwdriver at what he figured was a lightsaber. _If it's a mechanical device, then it must have some sort of circuitry. Then if that's the case, then I could short it out for a brief time, at least long enough for me to not get my head impaled._

The Doctor pressed the activation button, and a high-pitched hum suddenly cut through the alarms. As the Jedi started to move forward, the lightsaber he was holding suddenly deactivated and made a short _bizz-bizzt_ sound. The Jedi stared at the lightsaber in confusion. Taking advantage of his lapse in attention, the Doctor grabbed his copier and jogged past the Jedi. For some reason, as he passed the Jedi, the Doctor had the urge to pickpocket him, seeing that the Jedi's utility belt had a pocket for what passed for currency. So with this in mind, the Doctor made it so that he "accidentally" bumped into the Jedi, nabbing the pouch's contents in the process.

The Doctor quickly put the money in his pocket and then moved past the Jedi. Turning around and walking backwards, the Doctor said, "Sorry 'bout that, but I think that's my que to move along. Besides I think you have somewhere else you need to be, rather than bothering little old me." He said, commenting about the alarms. "Nice chatting with you, wish we could do it again!"

The Doctor turned around when he heard a confused "Huh?" behind him. He saw that the boy had woken up and was looking around somewhat groggy because of just waking up. Then his eyes cleared as he saw the Doctor moving around the rotunda. Then he got confused.

"Hello!" The Doctor said, being cheerful. "Nice to see you awake! I was wondering if you were ever going to wake up. Wish I could chat, but you know, things to do, places to see, people to save. The usual. Oh, by the way, the alarm wasn't me for once."

The boy's expression was priceless, being a mix of confusion, surprise, and astonishment. He stared at the strange man in a blue suit in front of him, not knowing what to say to the comments just made. Then he saw the person behind the man in the blue suit and worry came into his features. "Master Skywalker?"

The Doctor stopped in his tracks and turned around to face the Knight. "Skywalker? Ahsoka's master? That explains a lot."

"You _will_ tell me what she is doing." Anakin said, using one of his more powerful mind tricks in the hope to get this Doctor to talk.

The Doctor could feel the mental suggestion behind it, and it was strong. _Really _strong. If he were anyone else it would have reduced him to blabbing his life story. That is, if he weren't a nine hundred year old Time Lord from Gallifrey. Instead, it just gave him a really good mental workout. _He's good; I'll give him that. _"Could you please stop trying to invade my privacy?" The Doctor said.

Anakin growled and made a run for the Doctor. Realizing that this would be a good time to get back to the TARDIS, the Doctor also ran as well. Heading to where he parked it, he fished the key out and opened the door. He managed to get inside and close the door just as Anakin's hand reached for his jacket collar.

The Doctor rushed over to the control panel after setting the copier down and started to flip switches and pull levers. There was hammering on the door as the Jedi tried to get in; but this was the TARDIS, so it would be impossible to get in. The Doctor turned on the outside monitor to see what was going on. The screen flickered on and the Doctor saw Skywalker standing outside the door pounding on it with his hands. "Good luck trying to get in." He muttered.

Then he saw Skywalker's hand move down to his belt. When it came back up, a bar of blue plasma came with it. Whoops, looks like my little bypass didn't last for long. The Doctor once again started moving around the console, but then he stopped. There was a glowing spot on the door, not very big, and not very bright, but it was there. He looked at the monitor again and saw that Skywalker had tried to impale the TARDIS with his lightsaber. I don't know whether to be impressed that he's breaking through, or to be angry that he's damaging my TARDIS! Enough's enough.

The Doctor flipped a lever and a familiar sound came through the area as the TARDIS dematerialized from the physical realm.

_Vroomp-Vroomp-Vroomp-Vroomp. _

* * *

Anakin had enough of this. _What is this the Doctor entered? It's barely big enough to be an escape pod, and it looks to be made out of wood of all things._ Anakin grabbed his lightsaber off of his belt from where he put it after the Doctor deactivated it with that device. _Let's see if this can stand up to a lightsaber._ At that, Anakin activated the lightsaber and brought it up to chest level, then plunged it into the strange blue box.

Or tried to. The blade suddenly stopped when it barely got less than a centimeter in. Huh? What is this? It looks like wood, but it's stronger than most metals I've seen. That didn't stop Anakin from trying harder. The spot where his lightsaber was digging in started to blacken from the heat and Anakin could feel some progress being made. Slow, barely noticeable, agonizing process, but it was there.

Suddenly a strange sound started filling up the air and the blue box started to disappear. Anakin felt the Force surge around the blue box, and it was almost overwhelming. "No!" Anakin shouted, but as the box disappeared, his lightsaber met with less and less resistance until it disappeared and his blade swiped through empty air, almost damaging the bookcase in front of him.

Anakin looked wildly around for any sign of the box, but there was only Petro standing there and the alarms blaring. He stood there with a dark look on his face, and he noticed that Petro was looking at him funny. He looked at the boy, and saw him flinch. He realized that his glare must have startled him, so he tried to lighten his face.

Petro hesitantly approached. "Master Skywalker, who was that man?"

Anakin looked distant at that moment. Honestly, he didn't have an answer for Petro because he didn't know himself. The man raised more questions than he provided answers, and Anakin wasn't much closer than he was an hour ago to finding Ahsoka. The only thing he had was that she was somehow connected to the Doctor.

"Master Skywalker?"

Anakin looked down at Petro, seeing the concern in the young boy's eyes. Anakin thought for a moment before he said, "I don't know Petro. I don't know."

Somewhere in the Temple somebody turned off the alarm, and the sudden silence was defining. Then Anakin's communicator started beeping. "Skywalker here." He said.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan's voice came though, "can you come up to the communication center? We have something that you should see."

Anakin could hear the concern in Obi-Wan's voice. "I'll be right there." Then he cut the transmission. He paused for a moment before saying to Petro, "Go back to your quarters and get some rest, I'm sure we'll be fine without you for the time being."

Petro nodded and headed out of the Archives. Anakin stayed a minute longer before doing the same.

* * *

"Well that was entirely too close." The Doctor said to nobody in particular. He had managed to get inside the time-vortex before Skywalker did any real damage to the TARDIS, but the episode reminded him that there was such a thing as _too_ close of a call. He walked around, making sure that he was firmly inside the vortex before lifting up the copier and plugging it to the central computer. _Hmm… it'll take a while for it to download, so I'll just have to wait until then._

So he moved around and plopped himself on the swively chair. He idly rotated back and forth for a moment before he started doing the one thing he didn't want to do right now: think. _If I think, then I'll start having a discussion with myself again about whether to take Ahsoka with me, which is entirely out of the question by the way. And if I do have that conversation with myself, I need to remind myself of all the reasons why I shouldn't bring her with me. Then I need to rationalize those reasons into something that even I can't refute. But then there will be that last minute doubt that'll make me reconsider and fool myself into thinking one more trip. Then that trip will turn into one more. Then another. Then another. Then another until something happens to her and she becomes lost to me. Then I'll blame myself for letting something happen to her and I'll carry that with me forever. _

_I cannot take her with me. It's for my own good and for her own. She'll become something different than she is and it won't be for the better. She'll change into someone else, not who she is. It's happened before. Rose Tyler, the sweet girl becoming the Bad Wolf. Martha Jones, the nurse turned warrior. Donna Noble, hotheaded human now half Time Lord. What will Ahsoka be? Ex-Jedi becoming what? No I can't take her with me. _

_"But then who will watch over you?" _A voice said in the back of his head.

_"Oh great, here we go again." _The Doctor, or the first part of him thought,_ "I can't and you know why." _

_"Yes, but we also know what happens when you are by yourself." _The second part said.

_"Don't bring that up again. It was a mistake, and I've learned not to do it again." _

_"Sure. You've learned how much you can alter events, and now you believe you can avoid those mistakes but still do the same thing. You think you've learned, but you're fooling yourself." _

_"I have learned. I can never be the Time Lord Victorious. I can never control the laws of time. I know that." _

_"But at that moment you didn't, and it took a life to make you learn that." _

_"All the more reason not to take her with me." _

_"All the more reason for you to. She could stop you from going too far to prevent something like that from happening. She knows the universe in simpler terms, terms that you seem to have forgotten." _

_"I haven't forgotten them, and it was one time-" _

_"One moment is all it takes." _

"Enough!" The Doctor shouted to an empty room. "No more. I'm not taking her with me and that's that."

The voice was silent, and the Doctor relaxed slightly. But then, _"Are you just going to leave her there?" _

The Doctor sighed and started pacing around the room. "I said I wouldn't rescue them out if things went wrong. And why should I? They strong-armed me to coming here in the first place. Why should I help them?"

He stopped pacing. "There's no reason to. They've done nothing to make me want to do such a thing, so why do I feel… bad about it?" The Doctor frowned. He found himself in front of the control panel with his hand on the coordinates back to where the two women said they would be. _Ahsoka's done nothing to warrant such an action from me. True she took care of me, but I've repaid that several times over by now, and don't get me started on Ventress. So, what is stopping me from just leaving them? _

The Doctor pondered for a moment before realizing the reason. _I'm curious. Why did Ahsoka leave the Jedi? What has happened to her? She's a mystery and I can't resist any mysteries that come my way. But that's not it, at least not completely. I feel something, like I want to know her and heal what she's been through. She's been though a lot, and I am a Doctor. And… _

_And I do need someone to look over me. _

The Doctor had his hand over the lever that would materialize him where Ahsoka and Ventress would be when he left. He sighed, realizing that there never was any decision to be made. He grasped the lever tighter and pulled down.

"Allons-y!"

* * *

**This chapter was a bugger to write. Much longer than the other ones I've done, and I'm happy with it. I'm not sure how long the next chapter will be; it might be long or it might be short, who knows? The words come and flow when they do. **

**Anyway, next chapter, we'll be catching up with Ahsoka and Ventress, and you can bet those two will get along nicely insert dripping sarcasm here. And what did they do to set off the alarm? Find out next time!**

**As always R.R.F.F. (Read. Review. Favorite. Follow.)**

**-OrangeGalen**


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